Finding The NBA’s Peyton Manning; MJ’s Worst Draft Pick Returns

You can probably guess how the Atlanta Falcons feel right now. They get a huge win on Monday Night Football, but all anyone wants to talk about is how the other team — more specifically how the other quarterback (Peyton Manning) — lost the game, not how the Falcons won the game. It must be frustrating and a little insulting. Well, that’s how every opponent of the Miami Heat and L.A. Lakers is going to feel this upcoming NBA season. Whenever the Heat or Lakers lose, that will be the story; that they lost, not that the other team won. And that’s why it’ll be especially tough for Miami to repeat its championship, and why it’ll be near impossible for L.A. to fulfill Metta World Peace‘s prediction of a 73-win season. Because not only does the rest of the league have talent, but they also have pride. As much as we’ll love the underdogs, though, we’re still going to be disappointed if we don’t get that Heat/Lakers championshp series in June … Speaking of Metta, the Lakers are spending so much money on their superstar-filled lineup that he could become a business casualty. Cutting World Peace (sounds like an idea from the Mitt Romney budget) would save the Lakers an estimated $31 million in tax money, and while GM Mitch Kupchak says he likes his team as-is, that’s a lot of cash … So would you want Metta on your team? He’s not All-Defensive material anymore, and offensively he’s as reliable as a Las Vegas slot machine. And as James Harden‘s face can testify, there’s still got a little bit of Crazy Ron running around somewhere between those ears … The summer-long Josh Harrellson saga is finally over, as he is officially a member of the Miami Heat. Is it just us, or did it seem like Harrellson-to-Miami talk has been going on since the day free agency began and got WAY too much attention? Does anyone really think Jorts is going to be anything better than a not-that-good version of Nick Collison? … The Heat had to choose between Harrellson and Hassan Whiteside, who was one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball a couple years ago but honestly needed another year of seasoning at Marshall. Another name mentioned in Miami’s backup center search was Birdman Andersen, but the NBA already has one Chris Hansen in its universe (the guy trying to bring the Sonics back to Seattle) and REALLY doesn’t want the other Chris Hansen involved … … Hit the jump to see which NBA Draft bust is getting another shot …

Michael Jordan may have relinquished his basketball decision-making power to someone else in the Bobcats organization, but the ghosts of MJ’s past still won’t go away. Adam Morrison is back in the NBA, accepting a training camp invite from the Trail Blazers. The brutally-poor-man’s version of Dirk Nowitzki (at least once upon a time) hasn’t played in the league since 2010, when he saw some time off the bench for the Lakers. He’s since played for teams in Serbia and Turkey. At 28 years old, Morrison still has some good years left, though his best bet at making a roster at this point would be in a stand-in-the-corner shooter role similar to Vlad Radmanovic … By the way, Morrison has two more NBA championships than Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Dominique Wilkins, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing combined … Milwaukee is looking to fill out its roster, hosting Marquis Daniels, Rodney Carney and Rasual Butler for workouts recently. Of the three, Daniels probably brings the most to the table on both sides of the court, but Butler can be a deadly shooter and Carney is a crazy athlete … Louisville just got better. Rick Pitino has secured a committment from Chris Jones, a high-scoring point guard who is widely considered the No. 1 JUCO player in the country. The Cardinals could’ve used another scorer (or two) in their Final Four matchup with Kentucky … Jones could form a sick 1-2 punch at point guard with Peyton Siva, but if you’re looking for the nation’s best backcourt, keep an eye on NC State. The NCAA has cleared freshman Rodney Purvis to play this season, and alongside junior PG Lorenzo Brown he should make the Wolfpack a real problem for the ACC and the rest of the country. Purvis has been compared to John Wall for a long time, but that was more a product of them being from the same area. In reality, Purvis is a powerful combo guard who can score and pass and won’t be on the college scene very long before he becomes somebody’s Lottery pick … We’re out like Peyton’s honeymoon in Denver …

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