To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

We're going to impose some restrictions on the types of links you can get so please see below for the full list of links that do NOT count.

To get started simply go to Google and find other websites and blog that are about the sports and teams that you write about. Email the website owner and ask them for a link by explaining that you think your blog would be a good resource for their readers. Or offer to write a guest post for them with your by-line and URL at the bottom of the article. Or offer to exchange links with them by writing a quick write up of their site and a reciprocal link back to them. Some webmasters will be happy to add you to their blog roll even if you don't give them a link back (which is ideal) but some may want you to link back to them - you can easily do this with a quick blog entry on your blog about their website.

To learn more about inbound links and marketing your blog in general check out this post:--b... [read more]

I want to start with a giant HURRAY for the signing of Diop and the re-signing of JJ Barea.  For some reason these 2 guys just make me happy and they make me even happier as Dallas Mavericks!

Onto other business, I've been watching some of the Mavericks' summer league games from Las Vegas over the last week or so.  I've been very impressed with Shan Foster, the Mavs 2nd round draft pick from this year.  I hope they actually sign him and keep him around because he can certainly shoot the basketball, which is almost always helpful!  The others I've been enjoying so far are Singleton and Seibutis. 

I'm headed up to Utah next week to check out some of the Rocky Mountain Revue and will come back with LOTS of pictures to share!... [read more]

"It's not a game, it's an arms race" - Kanye West and Fallout Boy belt this hook over and over again on a recent hit with that same title. In that context, Kanye and the Fallout Boy guys are referring to the battle of musical artists not only surviving in a competitive worldwide market, but one with hindrances around every music sharing online ripping program. While that's an issue for another day and another blogsite, it's relevance is crucial when talking about the current state of Major League baseball and the National Basketball Association.

It all began on one fateful day in January when the Memphis Grizzlies gift-wrapped a late Christmas Gift for the Los Angeles Lakers in the mold of Pau Gasol, the center that solidified Showtime as the front-runner in the Western Conference. The arms race began! The domino effect led to two desperate acts of self-destruction in Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns and Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. Those moves pushed the usually level-headed Spurs into making a level-headed move in picking up Kurt Thomas... yet the games had just begun. 

Now, in the baby driven NBA, it shouldn't be a shock that the newest game craze is not guitar hero, but the preschool favorite musical chairs. The winner seemingly being the Philly Sixers- who just landed the Worst Friend of the Year Winner Elton Brand who's handshake and word are seemingly as reliable as a teenager making curfew or A-Rod making curfew. (While I will get back to A-Rod later in the week, didn't anybhody learn from the Carlos Boozer fiasco a few years ago? A... [read more]

After a disappointing first round loss to New Orleans the Mavericks fired head coach Avery Johnson.  Was that the right decission by mavs owner? in the off season the mavs hired Rick Carlisle as the new head coach and is determined to take this team to the playoffs for the 9th time.  Key additions to the Mavericks this season will be J.J. Barea signing a 3 yr contract worth $5 million, returning to the mavs will be center Desagana Diop, Diop signed a 5 yr contract worth $6 million, the mavs also signed Gerald Green to a one year deal worth $1 million.  Was the signing of these players worth the price? will it be high expectations only to end up in dissapointment again? with the changing of head coaches comes a change in the way the players will react hopefully the new head coach will be the one that can bring the championship to Dallas... [read more]

This is the first of probably many blog entries expressing my feelings about NBA basketball and more specifically the Dallas Mavericks.

Since it is the "off" season there isn't too much for me to say right now except I hope the talk of Diop coming back to Dallas is true!  I missed him the last part of the season!  There are some pretty big names out there in the world of free agency, it'll be exciting to see where everyone lands!

I'm also curious to see how Rick Carlise pans out.  There were so many coaching changes in the league, it'll be interesting to see how the different teams emerge under new leadership!  I'm also curious where Avery Johnson will end up.  Even if it didn't work out with the Mavericks, I think I'll always have a soft spot for him (unless he ever ends up in San Antonio or with the Lakers!)

Anyway, that's all for now.  I'll be updating as the excitement happens so stay tuned!... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/devean-george-blocks-kidd-trade.html

The trade was done and both teams were waiting for league approval when Devean George of the Mavericks decided to exercise his right to veto the trade!

ESPN.COM:

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the teams verbally agreed to the deal earlier Wednesday and were preparing to submit the trade for league approval when George informed the Mavericks that he wouldn't consent to being included in the deal, which is his right based on a rare provision in his one-year contract.

This is a stunning reaction to a trade that would have marked the third blockbuster of the season. How do his teammates feel now? How does Mark Cuban feel? What about Jason Kidd? A career role player like George just ruined his chance to finally be traded to a contender.

Jason Kidd must be absolutely shocked at this point. Can they talk George into changing his mind? Does this make the deal completely done or can they go back and revisit? Unbelievable!

Devean George interview:

... [read more]

http://thesportspoint.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-big-western-conference-trade.html

For the third time this month, a Western Conference title contender in the NBA has made a move to strengthen its team. This time, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed in principle to acquire point guard Jason Kidd, returning him to the team that he began his career.

Both the Mavericks and Jason Kidd publicly said they didn't feel the deal would happen, but the Mavericks and Nets reached an agreement Wednesday. New Jersey will get Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager, a first round pick in 2008 and 2010, and $3 million in return. The Nets are also giving up veteran Malik Allen along with Kidd.

This trade looks good for the Mavs in the short term, and the Nets have invested well in their future. It's not surprising that Dallas Owner Mark Cuban could not remain complacent while multiple teams around him made changes to their rosters. Hopefully all of these teams from the West don't forget about the two favorites to win it all: Eastern Conference powers Detroit and Boston.... [read more]

ESPN is reporting that Jason Kidd is going to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3244102

I love this trade.  I do.  I am so thankful that New Jersey is freeing J Kidd from his prison sentence as the team wallows in the ever awkward: 'we could compete for a 7th seed if everone was healthy' phase.  I hate when teams do this.  They settle.  What's the point of having a team?  It's to try and win a championship.  It's not to try and make the playoffs every year.  Win a championship; that's your goal.  The Nets needed to punt on this season and begin anew.  This trade will help them start over and build.

Here's the trade:

Jason Kidd and THE Malik Allen (should we call this the Malik Allen deal?)

for

Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse (who will be bought out faster than 10 cent ocean front property), Maurice Ager, Desagana Diop, and Devean George.

John Hollinger of ESPN.com, who I usally love, hates this trade.  He usues a fancy calculation and metrics to tell you that he wouldn't trade Devin Harris for Jason Kidd.  That's what this trade is about.  He crows about the loss of Diop and Stackhouse like they are Magic and Barkley.

The Mavs are better now because of this deal.  I don't know how you can argue this.   Kidd gives them flexibility (he can defend bigger guards so you can play him and Jason Terry at the same time), he gives them easy buckets (the Mavs play slowly and can go through stagnant times... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-cuban-takes-on-hornets.html

Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks is opening his mouth about the horrible situation in New Orleans. The Hornets are on the verge of moving for the second time in a decade and Cuban is not happy about it. In fact, he's taking direct aim at New Orleans owner George Shinn. The Hornets need to average over 14000 fans a night through the 2008-09 season or they may be leaving New Orleans. "Somebody's got to get off their ass and sell tickets," Cuban said earlier this month. "They've got the best record in the Western Conference and they can't get people to come? That's not New Orleans, that's effort. There's enough people. There's enough basketball fans to get 16, 17,000 people to come, even if they're weekend games. So they have bad nights Monday and Tuesday." Cuban turned around the Dallas Mavericks by working his tail off and thinks that the Hornets can be saved if someone down in the bayou actually took control. I got to think when Cuban speaks his mind, he's usually got a great point to make. You might want to pay attention New Orleans fans!

The rest of the article can be read here.

... [read more]

The Lakers looked awesome last night. Well, for a half at least. A night after coming off an 11-assist performance which included several wrap-around-the-back passes (the most impressive, by the way, was not the one to Turiaf, but rather the left handed around the back pass to Odom in the post—what an impossible pass…Try that Steve Nash!) Kobe had the Lakeshow rolling early. They took a 54-45 lead into halftime against the, albeit struggling, defending champs.

They looked quicker, faster, and younger than the Spurs. They played with fire, they played together, and they played well in spite of not having Bynum or Ariza or, to a lesser extent Mihm and Vlad Rad.

But when the Lakers came back out after half, they played like they were having flashbacks of that Boston game with the skimpy shorts. 22 turnovers is horrible for a junior high girls basketball game. And Mr. Passion Bucket Pass happy Kobe had 9 of them. Sure, not all of them were his fault, and sure, the Spurs have mastered the art of the foul that doesn’t get called, but come on, that’s no way for an MVP to be playing. 

Of course, learning from mistakes most definitely is how an MVP should act and respond to a game like Tuesday’s. Afterwards Kobe said, “Tonight is a good lesson for us in terms of how quickly momentum can change…” True dat.

But, despite the negative outcome, and despite dropping from 3rd all the way down to 6th in the West with just one loss (If they would have won, they would have been 2nd…crazy right?), ... [read more]

Nets acquire G Dooling from Magic (AP)

The New Jersey Nets acquired guard Keyon Dooling from the Orlando Magic in a sign and trade deal on Monday. In exchange for Dooling, the Nets gave the Magic cash and the trade exception they got in the deal that sent Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. "Keyon is a versatile NBA veteran, and we are pleased to add him to our roster," Nets president Rod Thorn said. [read full article]

Posted Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:26:27 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Love has 18 points, 13 boards in debut (AP)

Kevin Love had 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds Monday night in his debut for the Minnesota Timberwolves at the NBA Summer League. Love's team was routed by the Dallas Mavericks, 90-74. The fifth overall selection in last month's draft, Love started slowly and committed four fouls -- the same number of points he scored -- in the first quarter before settling in. [read full article]

Posted Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:49:02 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Mavs sign F-C Diop for 5 years, $31M (AP)

DeSagana Diop signed a five-year, $31 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, six months after Dallas sent him to New Jersey in the Jason Kidd trade. The Mavericks used their entire midlevel exception in their second free-agent deal with Diop since 2005. A lottery pick in Cleveland, Diop struggled before joining Dallas. [read full article]

Posted Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:30:40 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Mavericks ink former dunk champion Green (AP)

Former slam dunk champion Gerald Green signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound swingman is known mostly for his exploits in the last two dunk contests, winning it in 2007 and finishing second to Dwight Howard this year. In games that count, he has career averages of 8.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. [read full article]

Posted Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:56:26 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports

Source: Diop headed back to Mavericks (AP)

The Dallas Mavericks had to give up DeSagana Diop to get Jason Kidd. Now, the 7-foot center is headed back to Dallas. Diop agreed Wednesday to a $31 million, five-year contract with the Mavericks, according to a person close to the negotiations who requested anonymity because NBA rules prevent the deal from being signed until next week. [read full article]

Posted Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:37:02 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports