Shock ran around Indiana this evening as news broke that GM Jinkymagic had pulled the trigger on an incredible deal sending Mike Conley to rivals Chicago for Lee Cummard and DJ Augustin.

It makes it the third Central division team that Conley has played for after a successful spell in Cleveland before joining Indiana. The move is exciting for Chicago fans, with their team surely to be considered as one of the favourites to win it all this season.

The Pacers bring back a big time playmaker in Augustin and Cummard, an excellent scorer. Many feel that it is a deal the Pacers will regret by trading one of the best players in the league, especially sending him to such a big rival. Both players are tied down for the foreseeable future on very friendly contracts financially whereas Conley will probably look for the maximum when he hits free agency this season or next.

Reggie Miller wrote:]It seems that they are following through on their objective to become one of the best offensive teams in the NLL. Augustin will replace Conley’s playmaking, in fact he may be even better in that area. I suspect they will try to make him more of distributor. I don’t see Maurice Cheeks allowing him to put up 17 points a game on 41% shooting. He won't like that. Cummard gives the Pacers something they don't really have.

Larry Bird wrote:I don't think he cares about defense anymore. He just wants a team that can hold onto the ball better than anyone else and create exciting games for the fans. You limit your mistakes and you will win without good defense. Let's see how it works out, it's a big risk.

This could be the new look Pacers lineup:



With Matt Bouldin, Jon Brockman and Jordan Farmar on the bench, it's quite a competitive team. The team may not be playoff bound until they see a fully developed Ludovic Vaty and Jarrod Jones though.

The most difficult decision. That is the perfect definition of what is running around the Chicago Bulls GM's head. Paperwork has just been sent to the NLL Trade Office, where the Bulls ship DJ Augustin and Lee Cummard to the Indiana Pacers for Mike Conley. Fans are just already calling local media and flooding the net with messages criticizing the Front Office decision.

mgtr81 wrote:This is the toughest decision I've made in all these years at the helm of this franchise. Back in the summer of 2010, when I took over this team, seeing a DJ work in the pre-draft workouts was the first thing I did as a GM. Immediately after, I called teams with top picks to arrange a deal. We did with Steve, who was the general manager of Denver. We wish DJ and Lee the best. I know the fans will not like this move, but we think it will make us better. We also want to thank the Pacers management for the easy negotiations.

DJ Augustin has spent his whole NLL career in Chicago, where he has worn the Bulls uniform in 394 games. This season he was averaging 17.2 points, 8.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest. He was the face of the franchise and will be truly missed by the fans.



Lee Cummard came to the team after 44 games with the Golden State Warriors in his rookie season. He has ever been a key piece in the Bulls system, where he has flourished as one of the top scorers and shooters in the game. This year he was putting up 16.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.



Now, this team will look different, with no DJ and no Lee around. The arrival of Mike Conley marks a new era for the team. Only time will tell if this was a good decision. Conley, after a struggling start in the NLL where he played in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Antonio without much success, took off when he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he put the Cavs back in the map. After a season ending injury two years ago, he was moved to Indiana. This season he was averaging 26.8 points, 7.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game. He will have to adapt quickly to his new teammates, and a transition period is expected in Chicago as he adjust to coach Frank system.

GAMES PLAYED

New Orleans @ Indiana 78-115

Player of the game, Mike Conley Jr. scored 32 adding 8 assists as the Pacers cruised to an easy win over the Hornets. Samardo Samuels had 10 rebounds and 14 points. Pacers had 7 players in double figures. Ben Gorden to lead the Hornets who commited 29 turnovers, PG Kalin Lucas 11 by himself.

Utah @ Chicago 100-84

Kevin Love exploded for 27 points and had 15 rebounds in a losing cause as the balanced attack and sharp shooting Utah Jazz beat the Bulls.

Milwaukee @ Phoenix 87-113

Willie Warren and James Jones combined to score 39 points and Sean Williams managed 15 with 10 rebounds to give the Suns a nice win in what thus far has been a rough season for them. The Bucks shoot only .392 and commited 20 turnovers.

Utah @ Philadelphia 103-82 Player of the game, Utah's Ed Davis who had 26 and 13 rebounds. The now 0-10 Sixers still had something to feel good about in the play of rookie Festus Ezeli who was 9-18 for 18 points adding 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Charlotte @ New Jersey 98-85

B.J. Mullens managed to out muscle the Nets Blake Griffin, Fran Vazquez and and Ike Diogu in the front court helping the Bobcats to the win.

Minnesota @ New York 105-93

Gilbert Arenas scored 40 points in 37 minutes. However he got little help from his team mates and Nick Calathes with 9 assists and 25 points was able to guide the Timberwolves to the win.


Boston @ Cleveland 79-122

The Cav's had an easy night beating the Celtics by 43 points. Derrick Rose had 34 points, Anthony Randolph 18 rebounds.Cav's rookie Terrence Jones was able to play and had a nice showing with 9 points making 4-6 and added 2 staels in his 19 minutes of play.


Portland @ Washington 103-93

Kevin Durant was player of the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Stephen Curry 25 for the Wiz.

Miami @ Orlando 102-108

The defending Champs lose another for a 2-5 record this season. Rodney Stuckey led Orlando with 25 points. Hassan Whiteside had 16 rebounds and Deron Williams 10 assists.

Atlanta @ New Orleans 103-91

Alexey Shved had 26 points and 7 assists to lead the Hawks to their 4th victory of the season. They are now 4-5 and 3rd in their Division.

Detroit @ Houston 90-113

Patrick Mills had 33 points. LeBron James 10. A nice win for Houston. Detroit is 5-5 this season. This proud team looks to be on the decline.


Oklahoma City @ Memphis 75-89

Evan Burns scored 26 to lead all scorers. But it wasn't enough to overcome the Grizzlies. Shelvin Mack in 28 minutes shot 7-10 for 17 pointys and 6 assists. He added 2 steals.


Dallas @ San Antonio 87-76

Dallas remains the only unbeaten team in the league. Thaddeus Young 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals for the Mav's.


Milwaukee @ Los Angeles 98-109

Clips had 7 players in score in double figures. Bucks O.J. Mayo's had 27 in a losing cause for the Bucks.


Los Angeles @ Golden State 101-94

The aged Lakers beat the youngsters of Golden State. Alexis Ajinca had 22 and 17 rebounds for Golden State. But the big number was 20. The number of turnovers GS committed.


No trades today butlots of rumors. Dec isn't far away.

Philadelphia: There were a couple GMs after draft night scratching their head on why Philadelphia 76ers would trade up 2 spots for a player in Festus Ezeli that many believed could have fallen another 3-5 spots in the draft.

Philly GM Bill Smith wrote:We saw something special in Ezeli that most did not see and were not willing to chance him falling to another team. We pulled the trigger to secure us Ezeli being a Sixer and as we can see early in the season it has paid dividends.

Smith is correct as Ezeli in just 8 starts has already moved himself up as the #2 shot blocker in the league averaging 3.7 blocks per game. Though he had early shooting problems his last 3 games he has been averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting .525 from the field against big men like Pau Gasol, Ed Davis, and BJ Mullens.

Festus Ezeli wrote:Coach Brown has been challenging me since I got here to be the best bigman in the league today and not settle for just the future. He reminds me everyday that I have the tools to be the next Dikembo Mutumbo and be able to anchor this team for many years to come.

Sixers do not expect Ezeli to be an under the radar player for much longer, as their has been already a campaign for Ezeli to be the first player named DPOY and ROY. When asked:

Festus Ezeli wrote:That would be great, but not my focus. I am hear to help bring a championship back to Philly.