Jeremy Evans wins Dunk Contest in packed All-Star Weekend

The All-Star weekend was packed full of talent and plenty of highlight reel plays. Jeremy Evans won the Dunk Contest, Kevin Love won the three-point contest, and Tony Parker won the Skills Competition.

The All-Star game was the usual high-scoring relaxed pick-up game, but it turned intense in the final few minutes as the East tried to mount a comeback led by LeBron James. Kobe broke Jordan's record for most overall points in all-star games and dropped 27 along with playing through a broken nose. 

Jeremy Evans dominated the dunk contest with a 2-ball dunk shown below. The competition was fairly weak for Evans and the dunk contest desperately needs some star power for the future years. Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams, and Paul George are not my ideal dunk contest candidates. 

In the Rising Stars game, the Linsation scored a mere two points in a high-scoring frenzy. 

K-Love won the three point contest, going against James Jones and Kevin Durant in the final round and coming out the victor. 

As usual all-star weekend was a fun and exciting weekend full of talented basketball players putting on the show.

Should Carmelo Anthony be traded?

With the meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin is it reasonable to expect that Knicks All-Star SF Carmelo Anthony will be traded?

'Melo has been injured for the entire time Lin started his rise to NBA stardom, and now the media is pushing the possibility of him being moved. Head Coach Mike D'Antoni is known for his high tempo offense he built in Phoenix around PG Steve Nash.

The offense seems to be striving right now with no 'Melo to be seen; and it will be very interesting to see if the team will struggle and their offense will slow down when Carmelo is added.

Anthony is a well-known ball stopper who relies primarily on 1-on-1 isolation plays. He has been struggling so far this year and will absolutely be put on the hot seat for being traded if he continues to struggle.

Possible trading partners would probably be a competitive team that is one piece away from being a championship contender. Boston comes to mind in a possible deal, considering all the rumors about the big 3 being split up. It would work for both sides, as the Celtics could get an all-star caliber play and pair him with Rondo, and the Knicks can let Lin and Stoudermire fly while adding some unselfish, veteran leadership

A possible trade that would work between the two is:
Boston sends Kevin Garnett (1 yr/21.2 mil)  and Avery Bradley (3 yr/1.54 mil)
Knicks send Carmelo Anthony (4 yr/18.5 mil) and Renaldo Balkman (2 yr/1.67 mil)

Boston gains Carmelo obviously, and the Knicks get rid of his lengthy contract, and gains the expiring contract of KG which will clear 21 million in cap space for next year's free agents.

If trade talks start to swirl about Melo, it will be a mayhem over which team will end up for him and how much it will cost.

#Linsanity

Rondo for Gasol Swap? I don't think so.

After Thursday's Lakers/Celtics duel, a hot trade rumor sending PG Rajon Rondo to the Lakers and PF Pau Gasol to the Celtics has heated up.

Although the trade has gained substantial momentum, the trade doesn't make much sense and I personally cannot see it happening; and here's why you shouldn't as well.

I could see this trade happening from the Lakers point of view, but what holds it up is from Boston GM Danny Ainge's perspective. From Ainge's perspective he gives up a young, all-star point guard who is the future of his franchise. Although he gains a talented player, Gasol is over the hill at 31 years old.

The other aspect that makes me believe Ainge would never pull the trigger on this deal is that he is dealing with the Lakers. LA is Boston's arch-rival, and if Ainge made a deal that completed and solidified the Laker's squad he would be roasted by the Boston media. There is a reason David Stern vetoed the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, and that is because the Lakers with Kobe, Andrew Bynum, and an all-star point guard would be close to unstoppable.

The rumor is intriguing and plausible, but I highly doubt it will actually happen before the trade deadline.

Kobe Bryant now 5th on All-Time Scoring List

Kobe has one more ring than former teammate Shaquille O'Neal and has one-upped him once again.

Kobe has been an absolute animal this year averaging 29.3 PPG which leads the league; and with 28 in his last game he passed Shaq on the all-time scoring list with 28,601 points in his career.

Kobe still has a long long way to go to become number one on the list though. He needs approximately 10,000 more points to become number one and that is virtually impossible considering Kobe's age.

Next up on the list for Bryant is Wilt Chamberlain, a fellow Philadelphia native. Black Mamba needs 2818 more points to surpass Chamberlain, which, barring any major setbacks, should occur next season.

Kobe's next game is a big game against the old rival, the Boston Celtics, Thursday at 8:00 PM on TNT. Make sure to watch.

Kevin Love Suspended for Face Stomp

Was this worthy of a two-game suspension for Kevin Love here? Tell us what you think by tweeting at us @nbarumorz. 

Preparing for the 2012 NBA Draft

Go back in time three months. It was widely presumed that there would be no NBA season yet alone a draft in 2012.

Fast forward to the present. Now the NBA is doing as good as it ever has based on TV ratings. The NBA Draft is happening and is hyped up due to the tremendous amount of talented prospects available for teams.

The prodigy Anthony Davis headlines the draft class. As a freshman at Kentucky he has dominated, leading the NCAA in blocks with a ridiculous 4.7 per game. Add in his 13.5 PPG and 10.2 rebounds per game and he averages a double-double. He's a virtual lock to go #1 overall in the draft and will surely be a high impact player in the NBA.

But the teams that do not land the number one pick can still land a game-changing player. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Harrison Barnes, and Jared Sullinger are all big name players that will draw fans to their stadium as well as improve their team. 

Cody Zeller is another intriguing prospect who may declare for the draft. As a freshman at Indiana he has averaged 15 PPG and 6.3 RPG. Not jaw-dropping numbers, but his FG efficiency of 65.2% and his leadership skills are what makes him special.

Tune in to ESPN on June 28 at 7:00 PM EST to see which players go where. 

If you want to see Anthony Davis in motion, check out these highlights from his HS senior year: