Your Wrong : Your Wrong, I'm Write

(Word to Ju-Ju and Psycho Les!)

Ok, Ok. Enough with the music. One of the most important trades of the decade just happened between two teams I follow very closely. Yes, Ron Artest is apparently going to the Rockets for Donte Green, Bobby

Ron's pumped to team up with Yao and T-Mac in Houston

Jackson, and Houston’s top pick for next year. Strictly on paper, no one is topping the Rockets. A combination of T-mac, Yao, Ron, an emerging Rafer Alston, and the new Bruce Bowen, Shane battier, is a monsterstarting 5. Then you figure, Luther Head and Brent Barry back up the guards, Scola and Mutombo back up the bigs, and if he wants to come back, Carl Landry can jump in there somewhere too. But it’s not that important, if Landry wants to go to Europe he can. Not an issue. Chuck Hayes and Aaron Brooks will get minutes too….somewhere. Probably when T-Mac, Artest, and/or Yao all get hurt. Which is likely, since none of them average more than 70 games/season for their career. T-Mac actually leads the trio with 68.4 games/season. Yao checks in at 67.3, and Ron pulls up the rear with 59.4.

So how do they all fit in? Well, Yao is the centerpiece of the offense. Over the past three seasons, he averages 23 points and 10.8 rebounds on 51.4% shooting. In other words, he loves the high post. In fact, he’s money in the high post. But his 1.9 assists/game in that time tells me he’s not particularly adapt at passing out of the high post. But Yao’s game has developed to the point where he can bang too. He’s not that skinny, purely high-post guy anymore. He’s a low post threat as well. Tracy has lost a little of his athleticism but is still very quick, and has one of the best first steps in the league. He is essentially the point guard (with Rafer as more of a catch-and-shoot option). T-mac is often compared to Kobe, but while his defense is much worse and his back has left some of his scary-athleticism behind, he is a better outside shooter and a much better passer. In his four years as a Rocket, he has an

Tracy's happy to have two lock-down defenders on his team

outstanding 2.2 Assist-to-turnover ratio. So not only can he drop 50 on any given night (or 13 in 33 seconds, if you prefer), but he can act as a top-rate point guard (a 6′8″ one at that). Ron fits in as a slightly worse playmaker, but a better post option. He acts here as the middle ground. He can’t shoot like Tracy, nor does he have his athleticism. He can’t post like Yao, nor does he have his size. But those two are among the very elite in the league at what they do. And he doesn’t have to do what they do. He just has to slash, get to the rack, and occasionally shoot threes and create plays. Rafer will handle a lot of the shooting and secondary playmaking, as he has developed into quite the point guard himself, but Ron now gives them four playmakers (with Shane Battier as the stereotypical “I’m-good-at-everything-that-people-consider-team-ball” guy).

So how do they stack up? To me, the top 5 in the West is some combination of; Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Hornets, and now the Rockets (with 7 game series’ in mind)

First, let’s pit them against the Jazz. You’re talking about a rotation of Deron Williams/Ronnie Brewer/Andrei Kirilenko/Carlos Boozer/Mehmet Okur with Matt Harpring/Paul Millsap/Kyle Korver off the bench. In this case, Artest probably guards Boozer and Battier on Williams. The Jazz were the Rockets’ achilies’ hell last season, but the Artest trade probably gives them the advantage. Now you have two elite defenders to guard Boozer and Battier. Also, if you put AK on T-Mac and double Yao, who covers Ron? Deron? Brewer? They’re both too small. Even still, I think the Jazz still match up well with the Rockets, but the Rockets might have the slight edge right now.

Next is the Spurs. Let’s say Yao and Duncan cancel each other out. Ginobili hates Ron. Ron will bump the shit out of Manu. As long as Battier (and probably Rafer on a double team) can handle Parker, I don’t see how the Spurs could take an advantage. And as well all know, T-Mac loves playing the Spurs.

The Hornets present quite a challenge in the name of Chris Paul. He would be the X-factor in this series. Yao should be able to handle Chandler quite easily. And saying David West and Ron cancel each other out is a compliment to West. James Posey guarding Tracy is interesting, but probably not fruitious. Peja should be handled quite easily by Battier. So the only shot the Hornets have is monster nights scoring from Paul. Can he do that four nights out of seven? I doubt it.

The Lakers are the team that everyone is gunning for in the west. And one would think T-mac would love to stick it to his old buddy Kobe in the playoffs. As with the Garnett/Duncan rivalry, the Kobe/T-Mac rivalry has been quite one-sided in terms of winning. Let’s say the two buddies cancel each other out. Even though Kobe probably guards Mac, but Battier probably guards Kobe. Ron will take Pau, so T-Mac gets to guard Lamar. Yao should kill Bynum, and the Rafer/Fisher battle should be pretty even. Lamar is such a headcase that I can’t see him having big games against T-Mac and his long arms.

I think this trade keeps the Rockets comfortably better than New Orleans or San Antonio at the moment, but questionable with the Lakers and Jazz. But it puts them right there, and that’s what it’s meant to do.

In the late 90’s, Stargate were known as the “British guys” who did all sorts of hits for Backstreet Boy-band rip-offs. But in 2006, LA Reid had the foresight to team them with his new singer/songwriter/future superstar and they’ve invaded America. Well that dude was Ne-Yo, and these dudes have taken over. They have 11 top 10 pop hits since 2006, and are probably going to hit 13 very soon with two more songs climbing the charts. But they don’t account for the 11 tracks listed here.

10. & 11. (Tie) “Closer”-Ne-Yo (2008) & “Spotlight”-Jennifer Hudson (2008)

Of course, both of these songs were written and co-produced by Ne-Yo. This is obviously the slightly-house-y direction that the team is going in. The success of these tracks (the Ne-Yo song has already hit #1 in the UK), will probably determine how much further they delve into the genre. Especially considering that these the lead singles to two heavily anticipated albums. To me, both of them are ehhhh.

9. “Wait For You”-Elliott Yamin (2007)

Previous to this, the team had produced and written songs for Mario Vazquez (the minor hit “Gallery”) and Ruben Studdard, but this was the American Idol alum that got the big single. “Wait For You” was very much a monster, earning him a gold single and album.

8. “I Call It Love”-Lionel Richie (2006)

After the success of Ne-Yo’s “So Sick,” Stargate found themselves as in-demand producers. Though they usually teamed with Ne-Yo as their go-to songwriter, about a third of their songs are not written or co-produced by Ne-Yo. This is one of them. While Ne-Yo was out promoting his quadruple-platinum debut, Lionel Richie, of all people, came calling. They gave him a more light-hearted re-hash of “So Sick,” he threw his now famous daughter in the video, and it gave Richie his first notable hit single in a decade.

7. “Unfaithful”-Rihanna (2006)

While Ne-Yo typically works as the team’s unofficial third member, theres another Def Jam superstar that they helped build as well. “Unfaithful” was a top 10 hit in at least 11 countries, and was the first team of the Norweigian production pair, Ne-Yo the songwriter, and Rihanna. This combination would go on to team up for 4 of RihRih’s 8 top 10 hits.

6. “Can’t Help But Wait”-Trey Songz (2007)

Trey Songz sort of existed in Ne-Yo’s and Chris Brown’s shadow. All three entered the game together, as Trey was hyped as the “more urban/street” of the three to contrast Ne-Yo’s pop and Chris Brown’s Boy Band-ish sounds/images. But when their debuts dropped Ne-Yo sold 4 mil worldwide, Chris Breezy did 3, but Trey topped out at around 300k. Trey wasn’t even sure he’d get a second album. But Ne-Yo brought him on tour and StarGate gave him a smash – what is now his career defining single. “Cant Help But Wait” was a #2 R&B single and gave Trey his first real hit single. It also pushed the album way past gold and sets him up for a chance to be that superstar he was supposed to be.

5. “With You”-Chris Brown (2008)

CB, along with Rihanna, are the best at making completely irresistible pop records. “With You” is one of the cheesiest songs I can remember ever hearing. And it’s very easy to write the song off as another rip-off of “Irreplaceable.” But all that said, it’s still the catchiest and most melodic song to come out this year. And quite possibly is CB’s most successful song to date.

4. “Don’t Stop The Music”-Rihanna (2008)

This song was a step out of the norm for the duo. It was their first jump into a dance/pop single. Obviously, they’ve made some mid-tempo grooves for Ne-Yo that were bouncy enough to play in clubs, but this was their first all-out dance single. And it worked. All told, Stargate gave 5 songs to Rihanna for Good Girl Gone Bad and its’ re-release, including 3 of the set’s six singles (so far, the original has at least 2 more sure hit singles). Marking an important contribution to the best pop record of the decade (so far), and Rihanna’s five-times-platinum, career-defining record. “Don’t Stop”’s success led to creation of the aforementioned “Closer” and “Spotlight,” and featured a sample of Michael Jakcson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” that eventually builds into an all-out tribute to the classic Thriller tune.

3. “Irreplaceable”-Beyonce (2006)

Beyonce has been as successful as any pop star over the past decade, first with Destiny’s Child and later as a soloist. “Independant Woman” was D-Child’s biggest single, but she hadn’t had that monster worldwide single as a soloist. But that all changed in 2006 with the Ne-Yo-penned, Stargate-produced single that was the biggest song in all three’s careers. Spending 10 weeks at the top of the U.S. charts, “Irreplaceable” saved the un-even sophmore album B-Day, and pushing to almost six million sold worldwide. For it, she went back to the old D-Child themes of almost-feminist women’s anthems.  It also led to a number of (mostly Stargate-produced) clones; “With You,” Rihanna and Ne-Yo’s duet “Hate That I Love You,” and Ne-yo’s own “Go On Girl” being the most prominent.

2. “Sexy Love”-Ne-Yo (2006) &
1. “So Sick”-Ne-Yo (2006)

This is where it all started for the duo.  “So Sick” was a number one pop song in the States, and “Sexy Love” was the worldwide monster.  The two major singles from Ne-Yo’s debut led to the formation of Ne-Yo as the duo’s go-to songwriter.  Both songs inspired a few rip-offs of their own, including “Because Of You” the lead single from Ne-Yo’s second LP.  That song was, essentially, “Sexy Love” with a sped up beat.  These two songs also led to Ne-Yo’s success as a superstar singer in his own right.  As with Rihanna’s current album, Stargate worked heavily on Ne-Yo’s debut, In My Own Words. They gave him four songs altogether, including the two monster singles.

“My best friends worry ’bout me/
‘cuz they know when you famous/
and you had made cash the media aims aims at us and you’ll be up so high/
if you ever fall off, it feel like a plane crash”
-Kanye West, Common’s “They Say” (2005).

D'Angelo in better times

There is a dope-ass article on D’Angelo in this month’s Spin Magazine. But the main point that you can’t help but notice is how similar it sounds to that famous Rolling Stone article on Lauryn Hill. It’s easy to shrug it off and just say, “wow (so-and-so)’s gone crazy!” But when it begins to become a trend, maybe it’s time to take a deeper look at the situation.

At the turn of the century, there was quite a renaissance of artsy-neo-urban music. OutKast and Nas were dominating hip hop. The Roots, Common, and Black Star were the underground saviors. D’Angelo, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu had each other for competition moreso than the commercialism of the music. Four classic or near-classic albums (The Roots’ Things Fall Apart, D’s Voodu, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate, and Badu’s Mama’s Gun) all reportedly came out of the same recording sessions. Even artists like Musiq Soulchild and Raphael Saadiq were doin the damn thing. Then one-by-one, the movement’s biggest names began to disappear. Outkast’s last full album together came out in 2000. D’Angelo’s last album came out earlier that year. Maxwell dropped the year after, then disappeared. L-Boog’s struggles have been well chronicled. Ms. Badu just dropped her first album since 2000. Black Star never recorded a follow-up to their classic debut, and individually, Mos Def hasn’t dropped a full rap album since 1999. And The Roots have run through 2 record labels and are falling more and more irrelevant.

A couple of years ago, the popularity of Kanye West and his camp re-directed the movement. But only himself, Lupe Fiasco, and John Legend (maybe Gnarles Barkley/Cee-Lo too) managed to become stars of their own. Though he did help resurrect Common and Talib Kweli’s careers. And while Lupe and John are definite additions to the fold, it doesn’t quite make up for the huge hole in urban music. Really only Nas has consistently continued to make relevant music, from the artsy-era of the late 90’s, and his relevancy is slipping by the day.

So the question is, what happened?

Well, it’s complicated.

Dre's singing ambitions have put a hold on OutKast

Let’s start with OutKast. Artsy rappers that become singers are almost becoming a cliche (see: Hill, Lauryn, Mos Def, and Green, Cee-Lo), but Andre 3000’s ambitions to follow said cliche have thus far put a hold on hip hop’s greatest group. While he has been on a recent tirade back in the rapping forte, only two collaborations with Big Boi has surfaced; the teaser single to Big Boi’s solo debut “Royal Flush” and the teaser single to last year’s OutKast-heavy soundtrack to their movie Idlewild; “The Mighty O.” And the ever-discussed follow-up to 2003’s diamond-certified Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is still more rumor than fact. But perhaps the group was the victims of the success of that album. The idea of a split OutKast double album that had Dre singing seemed somewhat off-kilter at the time. And as much as i enjoyed his The Love Below half, I’d much rather have OutKast continuing to pump out albums like they were before. Following the double album’s success and his own long-running #1 pop single “Hey Ya,” Dre continued his singing forte. He even guest appeared on Kelis and Gwen Steffani’s albums as a singer, not a rapper. The duo released the Idlewild Soundtrack on the same split persona theme as the double album, but it flopped horribly. The long-rumored Dre solo debut has no release date and sight, and though the duo have promised a brand-new, full-length, all rapping album for years, it also seems to be more mirage than fact at this point. As you may eventually see from most of these cases, it seems OutKast (and Dre in particular) were victims of their own success.

Mos in his element

Mos Def is a different artist. Even among the off-center names i mentioned earlier, he’s a different person. He seems to make enough money from movies to not care about his sales from music. He shows up 2 hours late for concerts before explaining that he “works on his own schedule” and doesn’t like to be rushed. When he jumped on the scene in the late 90’s, he was quite the breath of fresh air. At a time where rap was at its’ most violent, Mos was all about having fun and enjoying yourself. Though he has never had a particular amount of commercial success on the mic, he has always been a critical favorite. At least through his Black Star project and solo debut. After watching The Roots, Common, and Dre 3k’s more artsy-rock oriented projects, Mos jumped into the pot – about a year or two too late. Plus he had been leaking songs that featured him rapping, but most of them were, quite frankly, garbage. His second album, The New Danger, featured more singing than rapping (though it is almost saved on the Kanye-produced “Sunshine”), and falls well on the rock side of things more often than not. And to be quite honest, his project was worse than Dre, Com, or The Roots’. He followed it up with a little-promoted album Tru3 Magic, a couple of year ago, that he explained was his attempt to get off of his record label. So what changed? In Mos’ case, no one seems to know. Though he’s been hanging out with Dave Chappelle and Kanye West, he doesn’t seem to have either’s work ethic. Maybe his status as a b-status actor has made him want to forget about rapping. Maybe the pressures of being the “savior of b-boy hip hop” caught up to him. Maybe he just doesn’t like rapping anymore. But he keeps dropping teasers. “Beef” was debuted on the Chappelle Show a couple of years ago, but there wasn’t anything to follow it up. They had a solo version and a Black Star version. The same could be said about “Brown Sugar,” the title-track to the movie of the same name, a couple years previous. He had little soundtrackand guest apperances like DJ Shadow’s “7 Days (Remix),” a cover of “Jam On It” on the Lyrcist Lounge Underground Airplay Compilation, and the Roots’ current album. While his Black Star partner Talib Kweli has consistently made records since that original Black Star LP (and been in two groups in the process to go with 3 solo records), Mos has gone under the radar. While Kweli is a very dope MC in his own right, he sounds his best when his lyricism and lyrical dexterity are matched with Mos’ swagger and charisma. Dave Chappelle and Kanye West have mentioned that they’ve been trying to get Mos to get back in the studio with Kweli for years, but the fruition of their efforts has yet to appear.

Ms Boogie, D, and Ms. Badu have all had their struggles talked about in depth.  But Maxwell remains an enigma.  He’s had three platinum albums, including 1996’s double-platinum Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite. Yet he hasn’t gotten enough press for even his biggest fans to understand what drives him.  And his only appearance on record since 2001’s platinum Now, was on label-mate Nas’ 2005 effort Streets Disciple. Their single together, “No One Else In The Room,” was a single in Europe, but made little noise in the states.  Around the time of the collaboration, Nas mentioned that he was regularly in touch with both Max and Lauryn Hill, and that both of them attended his wedding with Maxwell actually singing.  Max has been promising a new single since the beginning of the year, but has yet to drop anything.  There was a rumor that Max had made a record with suggested homosexuality in its’ content, but his label had shut it down immediately.  From all accounts, Max has lost his way.  It seems he, like D’Angelo, dislikes his status as a sex symbol, and would rather be thought of as an artist.  Max has always been a bit on the strange side to me, though i did rather enjoy Now and Urban Hang Suite. But if you surf the blogs after his appearance on at the recent BET awards, it’s easy to see why he would think that.  Again, it appears he is a victim of his own success.

So is Kanye next?   Kanye, since his debut sold 3 million, has risen to a level of fame on par with the Lauryn Hill’s and D’Angelo’s of the world.  Both critically and commercially, he has all the pressure of the world with each album he releases.  Only Nas came out of the renaissance era with commercial success (8 straight

Kanye follows in the lineage of the Lauryn Hill's and D'angelo's

platinum albums and going) and critical acclaim still in tact.  But on some levels Kanye is bigger than everyone except maybe for Lauryn Hill.  Kanye also has something none of the earlier mentioned artists do – multiple #1 pop tunes.  L-Boogs, for all of her fame and acclaim, only managed one number one single (“Doo Wop”), though that has as much to do with how songs were charted then vs. now.  Nevertheless, Kanye has already managed two #1 singles, and has had sustained chart success with almost all of his singles.  Proving that he is more of a pop artist than the rest.   But that verse on Common’s Be still seems strangely prophetic.  But it seems as Kanye’s reaching out to be a bigger part of the hip hop community in general instead of the Soulquarians crew.

But still, one has to wonder how urban music would have changed had all of these artists continued to drop albums.  Would D’Angelo have ever fulfilled his destiny as the “new Prince”?  Would L-Boogs’ reign been so great that J.Lo and later Beyonce and Alicia Keys would have ceased to exist?  Would Maxwell and D have ever become truly rivals?  Or would they all have eventually fallen off and flopped in the meantime?  That’s what makes us miss them the most: The fact that they never had a chance to fall off, so we only saw them at their greatest.

Ryan Sweeney is not going anywhere

With the competitive part of the A’s season pretty much over, it’s time to look towards the future. A lot of kids have spent time with the big league squad, but it’s time to look at the future of the team at each position. Who to get rid of, who to keep, and what we need to add, as the team looks forward to its’ move to Fremont in a couple of years.

The Untouchables:

OF Ryan Sweeney, OF Carlos Gonzalez

CarGon is as untouchable as there is on the A's

The A's aren't going to give him away, but Jack Cust can be had if your willing to give something up

We’ll think about it:

My 2 cents on this offseason’s hot topics so far:

The Hawks are a mess, Air Fro is going to Europe

1. The Josh Childress/Europe Connection: There has been tons written about this topic. I am pretty much in agreement with a lot of the writers in terms of what this could mean for the L. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Childress fan. I followed closely his run at Stanford, and he gave me reason to check on the Hawks for the last few years. But maan, this is a huge blow to the Hawks. And it also makes me wonder how this is going to effect Andris Biedrins’ contract discussions here in the O. But honestly, Biedrins can’t shoot. He’s not gonna be of much use in Europe. But Childress is. He can play either swingman spot, shoot, play very solid D, and get to the rack. He’s a very similar player to Anthony Parker, who was one of the most celebrated players in Europe before coming to the Raptors. I think he’ll do quite well. The Hawks front office is a mess. And if it took this Childress situation for anyone to see that, they haven’t been following the NBA.

2. The Carmelo Anthony/Tracy McGrady-chasing Pistons: It’s quite obvious that something is going to have to be done in big D. And my boy Sheed (who actually seemed to start the summer as the favorite to be traded in my opinion) now seems like the only safe starter on that squad. My opinion? Who they should thinkabout letting go, in order: McDyess, Rip, Chauncey, Sheed, and Tayshaun. Although ‘Sheed is getting up there in age these days. I’d let McDyess go first. He’s not nearly what he was two seasons ago, and now appears to be well on his way down. Plus the emergence of Jason Maxiell makes him quite expendable. Honestly, Maxiell outplayed McDyess down the stretch anyway. By far. Next, don’t get me wrong. I got love for Rip. He’s a great player. But you know what? Shooting is a skill that is far over-valued on championship-caliber teams (Allan Houston, anyone?). And that is what Rip really excels at. He is above average at everything else, but let’s not kid ourselves. He is in the league for his shooting. And while he’s one of the best at that, it’s not that difficult of a trait to find. Plus, a Billups/Stuckey starting backcourt makes a lot more sense than a Stuckey/Rip backcourt. Mainly because both Chauncey and Stuckey are combo guards. Plus Chauncey and Tayshaun shoot well enough to make up the difference. But really, I wouldn’t trade any of the Pistons’ top 4 without some sort of equal return on their value. To me, Tayshaun is the most valuable player on this team. This is because of what he is good at (defense, rebounding, and threes), his age (just entering his prime), and his experience (never been less than Conference Finals). But shit, if they wanna offer Tayshaun to the Kings for Artest, I ain’t complaining!

3. The Golden State Makeover: The hometown Warriors have been as active as anyone this offseason. First, Baron suprises everyone and opts out before heading to the Clips. Then the Dubs over-react and sign Maggette. Then Pietrus signs with the Magic. Turiaf signs an offer sheet and the Lakers don’t match. Azuibuke signs an offer sheet with the Clips and the W’s match. Barnes signs with the Suns. The W’s trade for Marcus Williams. Then they re-sign Monta to a slightly bigger contract than Maggette so that he can be the team’s highest paid player. The Warriors sign Mo Evans. Now all that’s left (at least, so i think) is their eventual re-signing of Andres Biedrins. Plus their top pick this year is tearing up Summer League. Wow. To re-cap, last year’s starting lineup: Baron/Monta/Jack/Harrington/Biedrins. Last year’s main bench: Pietrus/Azuibuke/Barnes. This year’s projected starters: Monta/Jack/Maggette/Harrington/Biedrins. But it’s the bench that really changes: M.Williams/Turiaf/Azuibuke/either Randolph or Brandon Wright/Marco Bellinelli or Mo Evans. Overall, they can go 11-deep this year if you get more run out of Bellinelli. They are a deeper team, but one that lacks the punch at the top of the rotation.

4. The Ron Artest Saga: The Summer starts off with Artest re-affirming how much he wants to stay a King. Then the deadline to opt out comes and goes, and he publically states that he wishes he’d opted out. Then he publically again affirms his love for the Kings, before requesting a trade. First it’s the Lakers who have the upper hand. But a deal for Artest + Kenny Thomas for Lamar Odom was never quite finalized. Next it was the Mavs (though they only offered Stackhouse and Bass, where Petrie wanted Josh Howard). Then it seemed all the speculation was a trade to the Pistons (though their rescinding offer was never mentioned (but it had to be straight up for Prince). With the Rockets and Nuggets insisting they will not trade T-Mac or ‘Melo, Artest becomes the best player available. And after GM’s watched Paul Pierce win Finals MVP, the Melo/Artest-type is in huge demand. My two cents: let’s just swap Artest/K.Thomas for Shawn Marion and call it a day, shall we? Or does that trade just make too much sense for both sides?

Westbrook + Durant = Scary good Future

5. The Oklahoma City (whatevers) Look like this year’s Portland: All the “Team of the Future” press that Portland’s getting (including my own), might just be jumping onto the bandwagon a little too early. This Russell Westbrook kid can play. And the three man break of Westbrook/Kevin Durant/Jeff Green looks scary-good. And with all the young bigs that team has, they look like quite a good bet to be the next “NEXT” NBA-darlings. By the way, the three played one Summer League game and made the opposition look like a High School JV team (as they probably should).

6. The Rise of the East: Watch out for 3 more teams to possibly climb into the Elite next season, and a fourth to be well on its’ way. The Wiz re-signed Arenas and Jamison, and ideally, a full season of their big 3 would probably put them right near the top of the Conference. The Raptors took a Mavs/Suns-like gamble, going “all-in” by trading for Jermaine O’Neal. The O’Neal/Bosh bigs combination is going to be the East’s answer to Shaq/Amare. Though ideally, it’d work out better as these two are far better defensively. And the Sixers added Elton Brand to a team that already looked pretty damn good in the second half of last season. But watch those Miami Heat. D-Wade’s team had the best draft in the L, picking up an immediate star and an impact starter in Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. After the inevitable Shawn Marion trade (Marion and Beasley do too many of the same things), throw in Udonis Haslem, and this team is going to surprise people. But of course, it all hinges upon whether Wade can come back 100% from his injury. Because when this dude is on, offensively, he might be better than Jordan.

7. Team USA: We all know whats goin’ on here. But with a starting lineup of J-Kidd/Kobe/LeBron/Melo/Dwight Howard, not to mention CP3 and Deron backing Kidd at the point, and D-Wade as the freakin SIXTH MAN, this team has potential to rival the OG Dream Team. But potential doesn’t win you gold. Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer know that, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince all know that. So it’s time to backup Lebron’s claim that this team will “absolutely” win gold. Or else we’ll still keep remembering that damn Jadakiss line from ‘04: “Why does Team USA keep gettin their ass kicked?”

“…the rest is full of mess so they tend to hide/
a lotta them is cowards who be actin hard/
some is tired ass tricks who will never get far/
some is straight dope fiends trynna grind the yay/
but they still pushin pebbles to this muthafuckin day/
some start funk over hoes and blame it on somethin else/
them niggas need to check they-self/
but the sucka that I hate the most/
is the busta full of envy man cuz he broke/
every night he be stressin, thinkin that his ho wanna get me/
i wouldn’t fuck her wit yo dick, she aint got nuttin to gimme/
cuz yo nigga is broke, so ho i know your starvin/
so you won’t have to worry about Mac Mall harmin/
Your boyfriend and girlfriend relationship/
i got my money and my cutties, who needs a bitch?/
Mac Mall will never get played, Im gon’ stay Ses-way/
And ya know I’m all about that mon-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!”

Someone put Mac Mall on a milk carton. He was supposed to be the next great Bay MC. A rapper who took the style and slang of the locals and matched it with the wit and lyricism of the NY-style MC’s from the mid-90’s. Co-signed from the 3 of the 4 biggest legends the Bay has ever seen in E-40, Mac Mall, and 2Pac, it seemed Mac Mall was destined for stardom.

It all started in the early 90’s, makin tapes with Mac Dre, Khayree and Ray Luv. Khayree had produced Vanilla Ice’s breakthrough, and was now looking for local, hardcore acts to team with his franchise (Dre) to put on to bigger things. Ray Luv was originally a hype-man for 2Pac, but was now branching into his own. And Mac Mall was a Mac Dre discovery, who also happened to be E-40’s cousin. Unfortunately Dre had just gotten a 5 year prison bid for some local Vallejo robberies. It should also be noted that Mac Dre and E-40, for the entire decade, were hated rivals. Dre repped the Crestside of Vallejo, while 40 repped the Hillside. Mac Mall was caught in the middle of a cross-town rivalry between his mentor and his cousin.

In 1994, 40 Water brokethrough nationwide with his single “Captain Save A Hoe.” He got a full label deal through Jive and eventually released his Platinum debut, In A Major Way in 1995. Mall had a regional hit of his own in 1993, with “Sick Wit It,” one of his trademark tales of infidelity. The fact that his hit single happened to be the same title as his cousin’s record label seemed to mean he was willing to bridge with his estranged cousin. But Mall had an older friend through his old ties with Ray Luv, that would eventually kick things off even further for Mall.

Tupac Shakur was the real reason talent scouts were devouring Bay Area rappers in the first place. No matter how big he got, he continued to reach out to local Bay Area rappers to give them exposure. He lended a hand to Mac Mall by directing and starring in the video for his next single, “Ghetto Theme.” Jive picked up distribution of Mall’s album, and signed him to a deal of his own. Mall was now doing shows with 40 and bringing Ray Luv, and Young Lay, Khayree’s newest discovery, with him. To capitalize off of the hype around Mac, Khayree gathered Mall and Luv and threw them on Lay’s first single, “All About My Fetti.” The song did quite well locally, and even got a good amount of play nationwide. Mac dropped another album in 1996, his official Jive debut, the heavily Sick Wid It-influenced, Untouchable. His first single, “Get Right,” was another socially-conscious song (ala “Ghetto Theme”), that featured Sick Wid It’s in-house crooner Levitti on the hook.

Mac Dre was released from jail while Mall was on promo tour for the album. The album’s gold plaque success, and its’ Sick Wid It-affiliations, infuriated Mac Dre. Dre began dissing Mall at every chance he got. Dre’s already-considerable local influence continued to grow, and Mall grew silent. Dre’s first radio single in almost a decade, “It’s Rainin Game,” was released close enough to the time of Mall’s next album, Illegal Business 2000, to try and take some of Mall’s shine away. Mall was dropped from Jive despite a hit single from the set, “Wide Open.”

From there, Mall all but disappeared. Eventually Mall and Dre made peace and finished an album together that was released immediately after Dre’s unfortunate passing. Dre eventually found another rapper with the Bay swagger and NYC-lyricism that he began to hype instead of Mall. That same rapper, Mistah Fab, hooked up with E-40’s son to gain exposure on a local classic (“Supa Sick Wid It”) using both camp’s influence to attempt to breakthrough. Mall had done the same thing 10 years ago, but was bastardized for it. Today, with 40 and Dre making a peace (or at least a mutual agreement to ignore each other), Mistah Fab had become the toast of the bay at one point. Somewhere Mall is watching Mistah Fab, hoping he doesn’t fall victim to the same industry politics that ruined his career.

Every year the NBA takes a week or so off before free agent signings are allowed to be announced. This of course, is the busiest part of the NBA offseason. This also coincides with rookies and young players’ getting more burn than most normally would in the Summer Leagues. So much going on, we’ll have to give you a rundown, first by team:

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have been as quiet a team as there has been in the NBA. They had no draft picks, their summer league doesn’t start until Utah on the 18th, and they have made no signings (of players, though Coach Woodson did get re-signed). However they have two marquee free agents in Josh Childress and Josh Smith. Childress has no real offers on the table (though why someone like Miami or Boston isn’t after him is beyond me), but should start getting more now that Corey Maggette has signed with G-State and Mickael Pietrus is with Orlando. He is normally targeted as the fourth swingman available (after Maggette, James Posey, and Pietrus). His summer is just starting. But Mr. Smith is now the most sought after Free Agent left. Elton Brand’s signing with Philly leaves the early favorites without the cap room to sign him. However the L.A. Clippers are major players, and if Chris Mullin ever comes to his senses, he should now be G-State’s #1 target.

Boston Celtics: As i mentioned, James Posey is the second targeted swingman in Free Agency. One could argue he was just as sought-after as Maggette because of his championship credentials. However I’d think there are only three teams with a realistic shot at him: Boston, Miami, and Detroit. Ultimately I think he eventually re-ups with Boston, and Childress goes to MIA. But even if Posey leaves, rookie Bill Walker should be able to make up his offensive numbers. It’d be nice if they could get PJ Brown and Eddie House to come back as well, though it seems doubtful at this point. Most of this team’s improvements will likely come from their kids (Rondo, Perkins, Powe, Davis) getting better from within. Though Chris Anderson is in talks to join the team, in case you don’t know he’s one of my favorite players in the league.

Charlotte Bobcats: There is little news out of Larry Brown’s crew either. He has his PG in DJ Augustin (that seems to mean that Ray Felton is now available), and their only free agent that they really want back is Emeka Okafor. And even that’s not as important as you would’ve thought a couple years ago. But Okafor seems like a player who Brown would absolutely love, and, more importantly, vice versa. But of course, the Clips and W’s could make a run at Okafor (as should be the case with all FA big men).

Chicago Bulls: The selection of Derrick Rose with the first overall pick led the Bulls’ guards to scurry. Duhon is gone to NY. Hinrich could follow out of town (if a deal can be worked out – probably including Tyus Thomas), probably to G-State. Of course, Rose actually has to play. He was manhandled in the first Summer League game by Mario Chalmers (as were Thomas and Joakim Noah by Michael Beasley). Rose played a little better in the second game, as did Thomas. But the star of the Summer so far has been Demetris Nichols, whose now dropped 29 points in 2 games. He might be worth bringing back after all. Of course, the team still has to decide what to do with Deng and Gordon. Lots to think about in Chicago.

Cleveland Cavs: The Cavs had thrown their hat in the James Posey chase, but I don’t see him going to Cleveland. They’re also rumored to have looked into Monta Ellis (he’s not going anywhere), Devin Brown is gone, and it looks like they could be after Carlos Delfino. But really, the Cavs made their biggest move at the trade deadline. It may take a while before we really see the true outcome of that deal.

Dallas Mavericks: Rick Carlisle has definitely begun his tenure on the right foot. He seems to be making a hard push for Sac’s Ron Artest. They picked up Gerald Green and re-signed Diop. They’re also one of the teams that’s putting their nose into Houston and Denver to see if they can’t get one or the other to part with (my 2 favorite players) Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady. But those are fairly unlikely.

Denver Nuggets: After another first round exit, one has to wonder if George Karl is the right coach for this team. The team seems to be wondering about Karl and ‘Melo. In my opinion, improvement for this team is not going to come externally. They have as talented a team as there is in the league. You’ve got a young budding superstar, who is an impossible matchup on offense (Melo); a top 50 player of all-time (AI), the best (or at least top 3) defensive player in the league (Camby), a former all-star who lost his athleticism but is still a lock-down defender to either Forward spot (K-Mart), another near-lockdown defender off the bench (Nene), a streaky outside shooter who can drop 40 at any moment (JR Smith), another ace outside shooter who can also bang (Linas Kleiza), and a free agent (who wants to come back) classic hustle guy (Eduardo Najera). Plus they look liek they are going to bring back Anthony Carter and sign Anthony Johnson to compete for the starting PG spot. But it all starts with Melo. But in terms of being a leader on this team and on the defensive end. If he shows he’s willing to commit to doing all the little things it takes to win (ala Paul Pierce last year), they’ll finally reach their talent level.

Detroit Pistons: After another EC Finals disappointment, Joe Dumars promised “big changes.” So far nothing of the sort has come. All they’ve done is replace Flip with Michael Curry. Anyone could’ve seen they needed to do that. They’ve tried to lure ‘Melo from Denver and T-Mac from Houston, but so far no luck. They went after Maggette and Pietrus, but each ultimately went elsewhere for more money. They were rumored to have a deal for Baron Davis had he re-signed with G-State. But that fell through when he went to the Clips. They halfway went after James Jones, but he ended up in Miami. Honestly, this is not a team that needs to make big changes. But we’ll see what happens.

Golden St. Warriors: Lots of stuff going on in Oakland. To summarize: Baron surprises everyone by opting out and signing with the Clips, W’s go after Arenas and Brand but are turned down, they drop $8-10 mil/year on Maggette, they throw a $4 mil offer sheet at Ronny Turiaf, and are now in discussions with Keyon Dooling (one of my favorite names in the L). Of course, what they should just do is: trade Al Harrington to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich straight up (unless they can also get a pick out of it), then turn around and spend whatever they can (keeping $18 mil under the luxury tax to re-sign Biedrins and Ellis), on Josh Smith. But that might just be the most logical thing to do, not what Mullin will do. Ideally, Maggette, Turiaf, and Dooling are bench players. But who knows what is going to happen here. They say Smith’s not on the team’s radar. But they also said that about Maggette, the day before they signed him.

Houston Rockets: Not much going on in Houston. Honestly if I’m the Rockets, i probably have too much talent on my roster. I’d be looking to deal some of my second-line guys (like Donte Green, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head) for a third-banana on offense. As much as I like Rafer, he probably isn’t a third banana on a playoff team. But he complements T-Mac very well. So I’d say, you probably want a third banana who can play well with Yao at the 2, 3 or 4 (T-Mac can switch between the 3 and 4). Next, you DO NOT deal T-Mac. Period.

Indiana Pacers: This is an unusual bunch. They’ve taken 7 new players in. In case you haven’t kept track, the team traded Jermaine O’Neal and Ike Diogu, and let David Harrison walk. They’ve also taken in Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, and Roy Hibbert, which gives them 16 players. Their Depth Chart now looks something like this:
PG: Ford/Jack/Jamaal Tinsley
SG: Mike Dunleavy/Rush
SF: Danny Granger/Marquis Daniels/Shawne Williams
PF: Troy Murphy/McRoberts
C: Jeff Foster/Nesterovic/Hibbert
Likely Gone and/or D-League: Travis Diener, Shane Graham, Baston.
Jack becomes their sixth man, and they now have 4 white big-men, which probably leads the league. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rush ends up stealing Dunleavy’s starting spot.

LA Clippers: Here’s a team searching for answers. They signed Baron Davis with dreams of pairing him with Elton Brand and/or Corey Maggette. Well, Brand bolted to Philly. Maggette to G-State. Now what? They’re after Josh Smith and Emeka Okafor. Stay tuned here, something’s gotta be on the way….

LA Lakers: Probably not much going on here. After they decide whether or not to match G-State’s offer, they will turn their attention to re-signing Sasha Vujacic. Then all eyes will be on Andrew Bynum’s return. Unless Odom is moved to Sacto for Artest, it doesn’t seem like much is going on here.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizz have a ton of young Wings/Points. A trade would seem plausible. You have Crittenton and Lowry backing up Conley. Both could very well be starting-level points. I would probably say Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo are untouchable. But if teams with bigs come calling for anyone else, the Grizz would have to at least consider it.

Miami Heat: Miami has done quite well for itself this offseason. The Beasley pick was a no-brainer. But it looks like Mario Chalmers might be quite a player for them at the point. It is also reported that they are about to land ace sharp-shooter James Jones from Portland as a Free Agent. So the question becomes: what are they going to do with Marion. Anyone who is even remotely close to the Heat insists that it’s not a question of whether he’ll be traded, its who and to whom. We’ll see. A mega-deal may well be on the way out of Miami. The team has needs at PG and Center, with a glutton of 2-4 players.

Milwaukee Bucks: This is a team in need of defense. And while RJ is an upgrade at the 3, last year was the worst in his career defensively. No one on this team played d last year. You can go up and down the roster, and only Desmond Mason even plays a lick of D. The drafting of Joe Alexander gives them a logjam at the 3. The team has been pretty quiet since draft day. But right now they look like one of the worst teams in the league.

Minnesota T-Wolves: The T-wolves are stockpiling assets. That’s the only logical assumption that can be made for a team with 5 rotation-quality 2-guards. Their depth chart projects starting 3 shooting guards (Randy Foye, Mike Miller, and Corey Brewer) and 2 undersized power forwards (Al Jefferson and Kevin Love). Nice. McHale said the team remains active in trade discussions. “I don’t think we’re done,’’ he said. I’d hope not.

New Jersey Nets: Okay, so I actually like the deal for Yi. A VC trade has got to be coming up. It’s the only way they rid themselves of all the big contracts. To the Clips? They are heavy on the trail of Andres Nocioni. And they are making Nenad Kristic available (not surprising considering his injury history and the recent trade for Yi). All is not settled in Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn). Their lineup for this year currently projects to: Devin Harris/VC/either Bobby Simmons or CDR/Yi/either Lopez or Sean Williams. But let’s be real, they are clearing contracts for 2010 so they can make pitches for the threesome of LeBron, D-Wade, and CB4. They almost shocked the world and traded for Carmelo. Almost.

New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets have given CP3 a well deserved extension. They’ve also thrown their hat into the James Posey mix. Otherwise, they’ve been pretty quiet. They’re not going to sign anyone else until the first batch of FA’s is done with. They don’t need to improve too much, and they don’t have a lot of money to throw around.

New York Knicks: After signing Chris Duhon, the Stephon Marbury-era is all but over. He is the anti-Marbury. He does not have the overwhelming talent that Marbury does, but he is a steady hand at the point. But you have to worry about the defense of a Duhon/Crawford backcourt. To be honest, it will be a fun year in the Big Apple. Who knows how D’antoni is going to react to his new team, and vice versa.

Oklahoma City Sonics: This team has a shiny new Point Guard to run the team. A fast break of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green sounds pretty good on paper, we’ll have to see how it plays out in real games (although they did tear up the team’s Summer League Game yesterday, that’s something they’re supposed to do. They’re the three best players on their team in a league with mostly lower level NBA players). There’s no way that they keep all those bigs as long-term projects too, so someone’s gonna havta go. My two cents: keep Collison, Elson and DJ White. Trade everyone else.

Orlando Magic: Honestly, they overpaid for Pietrus. But Courtney Lee will make a nice starting 2-guard for them. He’s lighting up the summer league. Really what they could use is some depth up front, but with the Pietrus signing and their cap status, nothing else is likely to happen. Except JJ Reddick is likely gone.

Philadelphia 76ers: Ahh Philly. A team with only 7 players under contract. Fortunately for them, one of them is named Elton Brand. The next step is to re-sign Andre Iguodala, then fill the roster with role players. One would think they’ll bring back Louis Williams and Shavlik Randolph, then sign their draft pick and maybe one or two minimum salary players. In my opinion this team needs a shooter (Reddick?). But otherwise, they’re primed for a deep playoff run.

Phoenix Suns: The Suns didn’t need much. But the team only has 10 players under contract (if you include first round pick Robin Lopez). But they have some huge salaries that put them deep into the luxury tax. Who knows how this team is going to react to its’ new coach. But Lopez is a nice piece as a first big off the bench for when Shaq and/or Amare get in foul trouble.

Portland Trail Blazers: This team is so loaded going into this season, James Jones wouldn’t have gotten off the bench. They are just loaded with young bigs and points, which is what every team is after. But they also dont have any weaknesses. Plus they have Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and LaMarcus Aldridge as emerging star. I swear, If I’m the Lakers or Hornets, I’ve got my eye on the Blazers for the next few years. I don’t imagine them doing too much in the meantime.

Sacramento Kings: My beloved Kings have been all over the rumors in deals involving Artest for Shawn Marion, Udonis Haslem, and Lamar Odom. But thus far all they’ve done is draft Jason Thompson and re-sign Beno Udrih. Apparently the Odom/Artest trade would have already gone through if the Lakers were willing to take Kenny Thomas’ contract back. Until the Artest situation gets settled, no one knows for sure what this team is going to be. But at the moment without Artest, they have:
PG: Udrih, Sean Singletary
SG: Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Quincy Douby
SF: John Salmons, Patrick Ewing Jr
PF: Mikki More, Jason Thompson, Sheldon Williams
C: Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes
IR: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kenny Thomas
Notice that I gave them a separate IR position for two guys who aren’t likely to play, but are too expensive to cut or waive. Douby gets his final chance to prove why the Kings should keep him. Salmons is probably close to that boat too, though he was the Kings’ best player for a lot of last season. Ewing Jr is in there exclusively for defense. We’ll have to see how the Artest situation plays out.

San Antonio Spurs: They went after Maggette but were ultimately out bid. Finley is probably gone. Barry too. Horry is definitely. They need to get younger, but they don’t really have the means to do so. Kurt Thomas will likely return, but he’s old too. They will probably try to grab some of the second batch of free agents, as they currently only 9 guys under contract for next season.

Toronto Raptors: Trading for Jermaine O’Neal took a lot of balls. I can’t front. I’m quite impressed with Toronto’s front office for this. They now field a starting lineup of Jose Calderon/Anthony Parker/Jamario Moon/Chris Bosh/Jermaine O’Neal. If O’Neal works out for them, they’re challenging the Celtics. If not, they’re still about as good as they were last year. They’re way over the salary cap now. But fuck it. Go for the gusto. I love the trade. You now have three current/former/should be all-stars, a super-athletic swingman, and a lockdown defender and three-point ace.

Utah Jazz: There’s not much action in Utah. Next summer is the big one for the Jazz, when Boozer, Williams, and Okur are all free agents. Personally, I’d give let Millsap show what he can do before i re-upped Boozer. Re-signing Williams is an obvious, even if it takes the Max. Okur can walk though.

Washington Wizards: The Wiz re-signed Arenas and Jamison. Everything else is pretty much secondary on this squad. Id think Roger Mason is returning too. If the starting 5 stays healthy, and Blatche and Young continue to improve; watch out.