Rather than put an end to trade-season in the NBA, it appears as though the Carmelo Anthony deal has only helped get things started.  One day after the Denver Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks, New York’s other team, the New Jersey Nets, decided to make a blockbuster deal of their own.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Utah Jazz have traded All-Star guard Deron Williams to the Nets in exchange for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first round draft picks.  It is believed that Golden State would also be involved in the deal, sending Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright to the Nets in exchange for Troy Murphy.

The Nets attempted to acquire Melo during the All-Star break, but were unsuccessful as they watched their New York rivals swoop in and get a deal done with the Nuggets.  That forced New Jersey to move onto the next one, and that is exactly what they did.  Although, there were several questions surrounding who that next one would be.  Some believed it could have been Chris Paul or Dwight Howard, but it now appears as though Deron Williams was the one they coveted, and after several failed attempts at acquiring other NBA superstars, Nets owner Mikhail Prokorov finally got his man.

So, with time still remaining before Thursday’s trade deadline, could there be more blockbuster moves to come?  Stay tuned to find out.

Hat Tip – [Yahoo! Sports]

First it was the Knicks.  Then the Nets.  Then the Lakers. Then the Bulls. Then the Rockets.  Then the Nuggets.  Then the Knicks again.  And finally, it appears as though the Carmelo Anthony trade-destination wheel is prepared to finally stop on the New Jersey Nets.

Melo will enter this weekend’s All-Star festivities as a member of the Western Conference, but following the break he may find himself playing in the Eastern Conference as the Denver Nuggets and the New Jersey Nets have reportedly reached an agreement on a trade that would send Carmelo Anthony packing for New Jersey.

Along with Melo, the Nets would also receive Chauncey Billups, Sheldon Williams, Melvin Ely and Renaldo Balkman in exchange for Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Ben Uzoh, Troy Murphy and four first-round picks.

Now it is up to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, along with GM Billy King, CEO Brett Yormark and minority owner Jay-Z, to convince Carmelo Anthony that New Jersey is where he wants to be.  They will meet with the All-Star forward this weekend in Los Angeles in an attempt to get him to sign off on a three-year, $65-million extension.  If they can get that done, Melo would become the newest member of the Nets, joining the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Derrick Rose and Amare Stoudemire, among others, in what has become a superstar-heavy Eastern Conference.

So now that the Carmelo Anthony trade talks appear to be coming to an end, I guess it is on to the next one.  That means you Chris Paul.

Having yet to play a game in the NBA, most of us are likely not all that familiar with Utah Jazz rookie guard Paul Harris, but if you are using NBA.com as a reference, you may think otherwise.  That is because according to them, Paul Harris looks a lot like Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets.  In fact, they appear to be the exact same person.

However, this is not just another case of an unbelievably good look-a-like.  Instead, it simply happens to be a minor error made by the people at NBA.com, which is all the more confusing considering people barely know who Paul Harris is and what he looks like.  Unfortunately, he is not an easy guy to catch a glimpse of (when you consider the fact that he has yet to play a game in the league), so if you happened to be searching for “Harris” under the players section, you have either noticed this gaff, or perhaps just figured that Paul was Devin’s underachieving twin.

I guess NBA.com was having similar problems catching a glimpse of Paul Harris, so they went with the closest option available.

Tuesday night when the Cavalier’s played the Net’s, Devin Harris dropped a pretty big hit on Jamario Moon who was taking it hard to the hole for a dunk. The play received a flagrant 2 because Harris dragged Moon down by putting his arm’s around moons neck. As a scuffle broke out soon afterwords, Lebron James jumped in and bear hugged Harris in order to avoid further confrontation. We’re used to seeing Lebron making crazy shots off the court, but it’s nice to see him take a leadership role on the team and looking after his players. He knows a fight breaking out on the court does good for nobody.

After the game Moon held no ill will towards Harris, stating that,

“I’ve never known him to make dirty plays. I don’t think it was dirty at all. It was a basketball play. It wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

I think Harris may have gone a bit too far in what he did, but it is a fine line between playing hard and playing over the edge. I think Harris may have crossed that line here, as it looked like a dirty play that could’ve seriously injured Moon.

Hat Tip Video – [Ball Don't Lie]

Andre Iguodala

He has an entirely different trick here, and considering his field goal percentage from outside 10 feet, its a miracle to see it go in.  Generally I’m more for trick plays during the course of a game, like that Pee Wee football one.  Anyways, he starts out by walking to the far wall of the gym.  Then he whips the ball underhand against the wall and it bounces over his head and right into the basket.

As most trick shots out there on the internet go, I would have to assume this one is real.  Why would Iggy go to the trouble of making a random Youtube video of a fake trick shot that he could probably hit anyways.  And why isn’t he in the gym practicing free throws or three-pointers?  The kid shoots 74% and 30% respectively.

Also I’ve seen a few variations of this shot out on web before, but what seems to set this apart is that Iggy’s back is completely to the basket and it doesn’t seem like he is really looking to much before he goes to take the shot.  Impressive.  Too bad its not the kind of play that can be used in a game like Devin Harris’s wild halfcourt winner.

If you were impressed by Devin Harris’ Half Court Shot To Beat 76ers the other day then you have to check out this video clip we have of LeBron James making an Underhanded Full Court Trick Shot from his own bench at half time.

Yes, this is why they call him KING JAMES, because he can do what he wants, when he wants!!!!!

With just under two seconds left in the game and the score 95-95, Harris fouled 76ers forward Andre Iguodala to put him at the line.  After missing the first free throw, Iguodala hit the second putting Philly up by one.  That’s when Harris used his “miracle performing” ability.  He caught the inbound pass, carried the ball along the baseline to half court where he appeared to have it stripped away by Iguodala.  He regained possession, JUST got the shot off, and hit nothing but net.  The play was reviewed and it counted.  Harris finished with a game-high 39 points and had the following to say about his shot after the game:

“When I saw it go in I didn’t think it was good because the first reaction I got from the referees was that it was no good, so it was hard to get excited…but it was a good feeling [when they told me it counted].”

As for the 76ers, well lets just say they saw it a different way.  At least a disgruntled Andre Miller did:

“It was no good, I mean, we all know that. We can’t sit and argue it and risk the consequences of talking about it. It’s over now…I guess that’s just how our season has been going.”

Apparently Miller isn’t much of a fan of the refs or technology.  Harris earned himself a spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter Highlight of the Night thanks to the play.  You think Stuart Scott was liking it?

And if you didn’t know, Playboys Cyber Girl Meghan Allen Is Dating Nets Devin Harris.

All 14 of these players definitely deserved it and have had good seasons up to this point. Unfortunately there is only room for 12 people on the All-Star roster, so there were a good amount of players who were snubbed this time around. Usually there is a few, but I feel that for the first time in a while there are so many players who could really have been on this reserve roster.

In the West, some players who could have deserved it also are Kevin Durant, Paul Millsap, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, and Al Jefferson. The 2 people I feel out of these 6 that really should have gotten it over others are Kevin Durant and Paul Millsap. Durant is averaging 24.8 points per game, which is good enough for sixth in the NBA. Paul Millsap has numbers that are definitely All-Star worthy, but the fact that David West has Chris Paul as a point guard is what gets him on the team. With a player like that on your team, you become better and better day by day, and David West has taken full advantage of Paul.

I think the reason Durant didn’t get the spot was because of team record. The seven reserves all play on teams with winning records, and Oklahoma City is far from that at 11-35. The West was pretty spot on with their All-Stars, and the picks that were borderline didn’t bother me.

The East is a pretty good squad, and there aren’t that many snubs. The only possible others who had an outside shot were David Lee, Ray Allen, and Mo Williams. These 3 players have made great contributions to their respective teams so far this year, and all of them will play a big role on their NBA Finals run (in Allen and Williams’ case) or a playoff run (in Lee’s case). While all 7 East reserves definitely deserved it, I think this was the time for David Lee. He is averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds on an improving Knick team, and along with Chris Duhon, is a huge leader. Lee is having a great year, but since it is early in his career, it isn’t a total snub, as he has a bright future and will eventually earn a spot.

I wish the best of luck to all the reserves and the starters in the game, and for the end of this article I’m going to make my All-Star pick: East 141, West 135.

Total Pro Sports- Let’s face it. The All-Star game is a popularity contest for the starting five, and even partially for the coaches who pick the reserves (because we know all the coaches play favorites as well). Some guys will get snubbed, and some guys will get the nod even though they don’t fully deserve it. Earlier this week, the starters were announced. I’m going to focus on the East, because that is where the focus of this article, David Lee, plays.

The starters were: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard. All five of these guys are definitely deserving of making the All-Star team, and most of them deserve to start (Iverson in my opinion should be a reserve and either Devin Harris or  Jameer Nelson should’ve been the starter).

There are fifteen players on the roster, so we have ten reserves. Let’s say we do it by two at each position (these aren’t my best answers, as I haven’t done my full research): Harris and Nelson at point, Joe Johnson and Ray Allen at shooting guard, Paul Pierce and Danny Granger at small forward, Chris Bosh and Rashard Lewis at power forward, and Emeka Okafor and DAVID LEE at center. Yes, David Lee should make the All-Star team. Besides Howard, there is no better center in the Eastern Conference than him. 15.5 points per game, 11.5 rebounds per game, 2 assists per game, 1 steals per game, .5 blocks per game. All of those numbers are totally solid, and he is producing on a struggling Knick team that is 18-24 and 10^th in the Eastern Conference.

David Lee has always been producing, whether it is early in his career on the bench, or now as the starting center. As a huge Knick fan, it hurt to see Lee be on the bench for the majority of his early career, when he was better than most of the big men that started (cough Eddy Curry cough). David Lee still had trouble getting into the starting rotation this year, but thanks to his great play in the preseason and in the beginning of the year, Coach D’Antoni has fallen in love with this wonderful big man. If you really care coaches, vote for David Lee. He deserves it, and can really help the Eastern Conference win it this year, which needs this win to tie the series over this decade.

If you think Meghan Allen looks familiar your right because she appeared on Couples Fear Factor, or you may have seen her in Playboys Cyber Girl of the Month for Jan 2008.

Meghan currently resides in Dallas. Until recently, she was working as a barmaid, and hosted InsideTheBar TV, a Dallas based 10 minute show that highlights that latest in local nightlife. She is now modeling part time for Avon and promoting a website called Adult Lounge.  In 2008 Allen was a participant in the reality show Momma’s Boys on NBC.

Enough of the ramble lets take a look at the pictures.