Wordapp!!!!!!

Nate Robinson and Shaq are on the same team.  This pleases me for many reasons.  One reason being that when they are standing next to each other, they are arguably this generation's Muggsy Bogues and Manute Bol.  Also, it's funny when a really short person stands next to a really tall person because you think to yourself, "Are these two really from the same species?" But in this case the answers is no, because genies aren't people.

But mostly this makes me happy because Shaq and Robinson are two of my favorite NBA Twitterers.  And now that they are both playing for the Celtics, they can combine their awesome Twit-Powers for an outrageous, spontaneous, you can't contain this kind of fun.

Melo Drama: Ex-Nets Ruin the Fun

So the Melo drama has come to an end, at least for Nets fans. Today, it became official that the proposed four-team megadeal that would send Carmelo Anthony to my beloved home state has been killed.

Which gives us the perfect opportunity to dedicate the necessary time to the most troublesome news bit from the weekend. Reportedly, after Kobe crashed the party, what added most to Melo's hesitancy about moving to Jersey was discussions with former Nets who "warned" him about the Nets' dismal fanbase and poor placement on the New York-area sports totem.

Look. We're not going to dive into the details here, but trust us, these criticisms are unfounded. Yes, we know games at the Izod Center in recent years had the atmosphere of a child's wake; we were there. But things are clearly very different now, so no former Net has any idea what being a Prokhorov employee means.

Bynum: Okay By Me!

So I must admit that this post is a bit weird for me to write. But after a discovery I made this morning, I realized I can no longer deny that I sort of like Andrew Bynum. Obviously, as an intense Celtics fan it doesn't make sense for me to like any Lakers, ever. Ironically, the following three reasons have led me to the conclusion that even though he plays for hated Los Angeles, Bynum is fine by me.

First and foremost, Bynum is a Jersey man. Born and raised in the Garden State, I automatically am drawn to him knowing that his basketball career started in my favorite place. Although, simply being an NJ native is not enough for me to claim that I somewhat admire this man. No, it's that this past June, he declined to immediately get the knee surgery he required to be ready for opening day and instead decided to attend the FIFA World Cup in South Africa!

I am on record as being a fan of soccer, so after hearing that Bynum will now miss the beginning of the season because he went to go watch soccer games in Africa elevates his status for me big time. Good work, Drew! You're not so bad after all.

Finally, he looks a lot like one of my favorite comedians.

Fantasy Voyage: So it Begins

If you hadn't already guessed it, we here at No Regard are pretty heavy into fantasy basketball. Throughout the season, we'll take the occasional moment to ignore real-life NBA implications and take a look at things from an IFL (In Fantasy Life) perspective.

For this first edition of Fantasy Voyage, we'd like to throw a question out there: Should Kevin Durant be the unanimous #1 pick going into this season? We're pretty positive he's got the scoring title on lock, but do LeBron's new surrounding weapons make him an even more dangerous fantasy option? What about CP3 and Kobe?

If you are fortunate enough to get that top spot, what are you doing?

Top Five Player Tweets of the Week - In Pictures!

From Skillanueva's half-time tweets to Gil's fateful outburst, we're keeping tabs on this whole Twitter thing.  Each week we wade through the rants, shout outs and sheer insanity to bring you the best micro-blogging the NBA has to offer.

5. "How do u hide ur Jim Johnson gettin excited in skinny jeans. Lol that's terrible. U r a boy. Get u some hammer baggy pants and go hard."

- Mike James







4. "I told yall yesterday about iguodala night right?? Yall ready for iguodala night????"

- Andre Iguodala

Team Dreamin' 2011: New York Knicks

At No Regard, we love basketball. We love the spectacle and strategy of the game, but sometimes the league's lack of imagination confounds and disappoints us. Call us optimists, visionaries, or kids who watched too much Space Jam, but we have ideas. Damn are we gonna share 'em.

So despite the emotional roller-coaster the Knicks have imposed on us this offseason, we at No Regard remain excited. I mean how could we not be? Dolan, Donnie, and D'Antoni (ahem, The Killer D's...) have cobbled together a team of guys that can really play. A low seed in the playoffs is no longer wishful thinking, but a reasonable expectation. For these Knicks, led by Amar'e, it's time to get serious, to focus on basketball; in other words, this ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around. Or is it...?

Tream Dreamin' 2011: Denver Nuggets

At No Regard, we love basketball. We love the spectacle and strategy of the game, but sometimes the league's lack of imagination confounds and disappoints us. Call us optimists, visionaries, or kids who watched too much Space Jam, but we have ideas. Damn are we gonna share 'em.

There has sure been a lot of 'Melo wants out of Denver' chatter since LeBron made his decision to play in Miami. The experts have spent the last two months breaking down the potential suitors for Anthony and it makes me sick. So, Denver Nuggets, I plead of you this:

Decide either way what you are going to do about Melo immediately! It's killing us out here!

It's not that I'm upset to hear that Carmelo might leave Denver. It's that I can't bear any more agonizing days in which I spend my minutes debating the different places he might end up and how that might effect the NBA.

Seriously, I cringe thinking about how, for almost two years, I was so obsessed with where LeBron was going to end up I found myself saying phrases like, "He's staying, bro. No way he leaves his hometown without a ring," and "He's coming to the Nets, dude. How could he say no to BK, Jay-Z, and one of the richest people in the world?" on a daily basis.

Now, with all the Melo conversation going on, I again find myself saying phrases like, "He's staying, bro. No way he leaves Denver without a ring," and "He's coming to the Nets, dude. They have the most to offer him. How could he say no to BK, Jay-Z, and Devin Harris?" on a daily basis.

So Denver, bro, get on your horse and move him already. Or don't move him. Whatever it is you want to do, do it ASAP. But send him to the Nets, dude. How can you say no to Melo in BK, with Jay-Z and Devin Harris?

Whoa Nellie!

Sorry for the Post headline, but I have to say, I was not expecting this news! It may have seemed obvious based on the Warriors performance issues over the last two seasons and cryptic words from owner Joe Lacob, but I would have put a fair amount of money on Golden State keeping the Don around for the last season on his contract, giving him the chance to continue to develop Stephen Curry and work with David Lee. It seemed like the easiest thing to do.

But, alas, Lacob and fellow new owner Peter Guber, could not wait until 2011-2012 for a total "rebuilding". And as much as I love Nelson on a personal, drinking buddy level, this might end up being a really smart decision. Barring a remarkably good season, Nelson would have probably been out after this year. With all the new pieces in Golden State, it makes sense to give them a new coach from the get-go, rather than disrupting things after one season. Additionally, Keith Smart seems like a nice fit. The players like him, he's been very involved with leading the team, and if things don't work out, the stakes aren't all that high, economically or for the new owners' reputation. It's a safe choice, yet one with a high ceiling that could produce surprisingly good results.

That said, we'll miss Don. A lot. His tenure with the Warriors has included so many great moments and for at least a couple of us here, some of the most fun-to-watch basketball we've ever seen. All we can hope for is that, since he'll still make his $6 million for the upcoming year, he's fine with covering the tab when we invite him out for Scotch.