Live and Direct

7.10.2013////Alex Moran
Reporting from an undisclosed location:

The Bargnani trade is official. Already, the Italian has had to adjust to MEgaLOmania by adding another 7 to his jersey. That's not so bad. A good omen on this day of marriage: it's raining. Also, the number 7 has an attachment to good luck according to adults that wear stones on strings around their necks.

I'm in a nuclear fallout shelter with my dog. A poster depicting JR Smith mid dunk graces the cold grey wall I'm facing. It's not safe above ground. I hear the constant pitter patter of rain; a virtuoso performance. There's also a rabid mass of people threatening to burn down MSG.

Of course, none of them are Knicks fans. They hail from all over the United States and they are all highly opinionated on what the Knicks have and have not done during the off season thus far. Cap space, unreliable players, age, depth, shot chuckers, everything becomes a mass of profanity and negativity.

Hey, the Bobcats signed Al Jefferson for three years and $41 million. But the Bobcats are the Bobcats, and no one dislikes Charlotte as much as they dislike New York. Jefferson's one time teammate and partner in paint bashing, Paul Millsap, was paid something like $19 million over two years by the Hawks. What's up with the disparity? Exactly three people in the world care about this issue.

If the Bobcats come anywhere near the playoffs I'll boil my only leather belt and eat it.

The Hawks let Josh Smith go to Detroit where he'll work alongside a conglomerate of young people. That's cool. I have a list in which the Pistons actually make the playoffs donning a spiffy eighth place seed. I don't have the Hawks on that list because they're not too attractive on paper. Jeff Teague is not happy, and rumors have picked up steam regarding a Hawks-Bucks trade involving the aforementioned point guard and Brandon Jennings. The winner in that would-be trade is probably Jennings because he'll get a tiny boost in recognition value by leaving Milwaukee and moving to Atlanta. There's not much else to that story.

I imagine an oasis of pick and rolls boosted by our acquisition of Bargnani. Knicks time periods will be signified as AB (After Bargnani) and BB (Before Bargnani). That doesn't sound right. Let's not put too much pressure on the big guy, my dog says. By the way, an unmanned aircraft landed on a Navy aircraft carrier for the first time ever. That happened today and it reminded me to call up coach Woodson and tell him to put a leash on JR. "Keep it short, Coach."

Nikola Pekovic is about to get paid $50 million over four years by the Timberwolves. Their starting lineup reads as follows: Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, and Chase Budinger (?) I like it, but I don't love it. Corey Brewer may be added to that mix, not that he makes up for the absence of our good friend AK47. Still, this is nice for Brewer and Minnesota.

I mailed Amare Stoudemire a senzu bean yesterday. I also mailed out a letter to Dan Gilbert telling him how much I want the Cavaliers to make the playoffs. Don't ask why. There are just some teams you want to win beyond any rational explanation. To most, the Knicks are not the team. In fact, they're quite the opposite.

- Alex Moran