Hooped Up

Okay so a while back I mentioned that I would have a Top 25 Distraction “vote off” at the end of the year. Screw that Instead the Top 25 most viewed lasses will be the Hooped Up Top 25 Distractions. Deal?..Deal. Now lets continue with the awesomeness, and enjoy Puerto Rican model Bianca Holland.

Yes, everyone is a winner with The Distraction.

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The wheelchair bit  was a little overboard but, Pierce was kinda funny.  

Gilbert Arenas said he opted out of the final year of his contract with the idea he would remain with the Washington Wizards. When NBA free agency officially opens at midnight tomorrow, Arenas will have an opportunity to show he was sincere. According to a league source familiar with the situation, Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld plans on soon offering Arenas a lucrative long-term contract, one that could cover up to six years and could be worth more than $100 million. However, whether Grunfeld and the Wizards are willing to meet the three-time all star guard’s wish for a maximum-level contract — one that would cover six years and pay him over $124 million — remains unclear.

Washington Post

Phoenix will target a backup point guard, a shooter and a big man in free agency. The Sunsare determined to lighten 34-year-old point guardSteve Nash’s load. The point-guard target list includes 31-year-old Tyronn Lue. The speedy 6-footer is a 39 percent career 3-point shooter and friend of Suns center Shaquille O’Neal. In March, he considered the Suns before signing with Dallas. Anthony Johnson, a 33-year-old who has switched teams nine times, and Chris Duhon, a pricier prospect, also interest the Suns. For a wing player, the Suns like Jarvis Hayes. He played for the Detroit Pistons last season when new Suns coach Terry Porter was an assistant there.

Arizona Republic

Larry Bird really doesn’t want Jamaal Tinsley in Indiana!

If the Pacers can’t trade Jamaal Tinsley, they’re buying him out. They reached that decision even before they stocked up on point guards by dealing for T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack. Tinsley has three years left on his deal, in excess of $21 milllion.

New York Daily News

This is not really news because who wants to play for the Clippers, if they plan on winning while they are playing in the NBA.  Corey Maggette is the latest Clipper that might be on his way out of losing land. Seriously the Clippers make a strong case for a relegation system in the NBA.  

Los Angeles Clippers guard Corey Maggette told friends over the weekend that he was encouraging the Orlando Magic to make a competitive offer in free agency, allowing him to return to the team where he started his NBA career nine years ago. Maggette, 28, averaged 22.1 points last season for the Clippers, where he has spent the last eight seasons as a shooting guard/small forward. 

Orlando Sentinel

Say what you will of Ron-Ron but, there are a lot of teams that could really use his services in the league.  Ask the Lakers how good Ron Artest would have looked in a Lakers jersey in the Finals. He’s a lock down perimiter defender, a proven scorer and as of tonight possibly a free agent.

Ron Artest either will be in the final season of his contract with the Kings or an intriguing member of the free-agent market. The decision is his until the deadline passes, just as it has been since the season ended. Though the prospect of Artest opting out remains unlikely, the uncertainty remains until it’s official. Artest is in the driver’s seat for one more day, and Petrie is stuck without a steering wheel. 

Sacramento Bee 

Sequels aren’t always bad especially when they are in the form of Prague sensation Jan Defi aka Princessa / Princzessa / Maria Swan / the distraction.

The Nets gave themselves maximum financial effectiveness ($22 million under the projected cap of $58M, July 1, 2010) to recruit potential free agent (while boxing out the Knicks) LeBron James. . .and Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Clearing cap room two years ahead of time on the belief James’ outwardly magnetic bond with Nets’ minority owner Jay-Z (it’s not as if he rhymes as tight as Biggie Smalls) will influence him to forsake his home state of Ohio is like building an elaborate spec house just across the Brooklyn Bridge in today’s saggy, baggy real estate market.

New York Post

Sure, New York will be tough. Danilo Gallinari believes he is ready, since there was plenty of pressure playing in Milan.

Especially since he wore the same number as a giant of Italian hoops — who now happens to be his coach.

Gallinari proved to be worthy of wearing Mike D’Antoni’s No. 8 back home, and hopes to win over the fans that jeered him on draft night when he dons a Knicks jersey with the same number next season.

“I think it is two different worlds,” the 19-year-old Gallinari said Friday at the Knicks’ training center. “There is a lot of pressure in Milan and a lot of pressure in New York. So I’m going to different places, but same place.”

And not an easy one. Fans at the draft booed loudly when the Knicks took Gallinari on Thursday with the No. 6 pick, and that was nothing compared to what he’ll hear if he doesn’t produce right away next season.

Boston Herald