AGRI Biz

The Orlando Summer League may have opened the eyes of many NBA executives around the league to the skills of Luke Harangody.   Harangody backed out of last year's draft because he was projected to be a second rounder.  This year the same doubts about him surfaced and he was unable to bolster his draft stock.   The Celtics took him with the 52nd pick, knowing that it was a low-risk, ...

This summer has been the most heavily anticipated summer in NBA history. the cream off the crop of NBA superstars are peddling themselves before the end of the CBA (collective Bargaining Agreement) next season.   As of this writing the players union has given the NBA a proposal for a new CBA. Teams have been clearing cap space for the last three years hence making this the Summer of Lebron.  Players like Dywane Wade, ...

The Boston Celtics have managed to keep two of their major free agents in Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers.  Danny Ainge had maintained all along that Pierce and Rivers would be back in the fold and they were right. Doc did his customary end of season soul searching and got the thumbs up from his family to go for one more championship drive. The present climate in the NBA speaks of desperation; ...

Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge came to Boston as a package deal. Both of their contracts end at the same time and between the two they have unfinished business to attend too. Together, they brought the Celtics back to relevance. Together, they should help bridge the crack in the foundation as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen enter the down side of their career. Their task is simple: find a reasonable ...

The Boston Celtics made a bold statement on draft night; they went against conventional wisdom and chose a point guard with the 19th pick. This may turn out to be Danny Ainge's way of telling Paul Pierce that this is Rondo's team now.   Media pundits were all forecasting that Boston would either choose a shooting guard or a big man.  They were taken by surprise with the Bradley pick especially when ...

This 2010 season was supposed to be the year of LeBron; fortunately for the rest of us, we have a match-up that only the basketball Gods could make possible. You can feel the tremor of excitement permeating the air, the rear ambrosia of a Game 7 that leaves everyone waiting in anticipation. Game 6 is done and now it’s on to basketball's version of Shangri-la, a Game 7. This is no ordinary game. ...

  Who would have thought that a single utterance in a movie by the most recognized Laker super-fan Jack Nicholson, "You can't handle the truth!" manifest itself in an NBA game.   Nicholson insisted in the movie "A Few Good Men" that it was his ability to do what was necessary to get the job done that kept the masses safe. Game 5 saw the Celtics determination to prove that Ron Artest could not handle "The ...

It has become apparent that there isn't that much difference in the talent level in the Finals this year.  Both teams have sustained losses on their home-court that would have made cowards of lesser teams. The way that both benches have stepped up in Games 3 and 4 show how the coaches are able to adjust to any scenario.   They are the top two defensive teams in the league and it has shown ...

Game 3 is over and the Los Angeles Lakers look like they are about to make Paul Pierce's words come true.  Boston find themselves in a 2-1 hole with the Lakers threatening to end their season in Boston.   Once again, the referee's whistle made it impossible for one of the Celtic starters to be a factor in the game. Tonight was Paul Pierce's turn.   Saddled with foul trouble, he could do nothing but ...

The issue of too much referee interference was all but guaranteed before the Finals even began. Phil Jackson made it his duty to point out that his team does not have a "smackdown" mentality. He used the video of Kevin Garnett smacking Dwight Howard's hand away in Game 6 as evidence that he should be watched. Thus began the myopic examination of any incidental contact in the first two games by the referees.  The Celtics ...