When it was announced on Monday that the Detroit Pistons had unofficially come to terms with Kwame Brown, it stumped a considerable portion of the basketball community. Even more confusing though, than general manager Joe Dumars shelling out eight million dollars for the former draft flop, is the fact that he did so despite an already sound front court and the promise of so much more. When the deal officially crosses the table, probably later this week, stop considering this an underwhelming move on the heels of a disappointing playoff exit. By acquiring Brown, Dumars not only nabs another project to work with, but opens up even more options to finally make that trade we’ve all been waiting for.

The year 2008 has been a breakthrough year for Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Earlier this year, he was able to defeat New York Senator Hilary Clinton in a tightly-fought battle for the Democratic Nomination. In winning that nomination, he became the first African-American to ever hold the position, and instantly became a serious contender for the next Presidency of the United States. Since then, Obama has traveled all over the United States giving dazzling speeches in an effort to convince everyone that he is indeed the right choice for the next four years. But there is another side of Obama that is just as impressive as the nominations, the speeches and the accomplishments: his love for playing the game of basketball.

The big news within the online basketball community this summer has been Ryne Nelson’s meteoric rise from blogger to the new Online Editor of Slam Magazine. This weekend Ryne took some time to talk with me about his background as a broadcast journalism major, the story behind why he started the highly successful blog Odenized and how he was able to parlay that into his new gig with Slam.

Just a quick note to let readers know the latest Carnival of the NBA is posted over on Ball Don’t Lie. As a nice twist, JE Skeets wrote the latest Carnival using famous quotes from Will Ferrelll movies.

Last week’s Advanced Stats column furthered our examination of basic APBRmetrics and their application. Thus far we have considered new measures for team and player shooting statistics. This week we explore another important “dynamic statistic”: Offensive Rating.

It should come as no surprise that Kevin Pritchard has revealed himself as one of the smartest general managers in basketball over the past few years. After all, his college career saw him play under Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich, two great basketball minds, and he got his first front office job from Spurs’ general manager R.C. Buford.

The biggest sign of Gilbert Arenas’ maturity and the newfound responsibility that comes with a large contract came towards the end of the press conference. In year’s past, his name has been synonymous with quirky and controversial behavior from flipping a coin to decide his free agency fate in 2003, to checking into a playoff game in 2008, without notifying Coach Jordan ahead of time. Arenas acknowledged during Tuesday’s press conference that behavior definitely has to be amended going forward.

One of the most intriguing stories in basketball history belongs to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Don’t believe me? Think again. From his rail-thin physique to his 1991 conversion to Islam, in a traditional sports world, the man originally born Chris Jackson lived a spiritual life far removed from the traditional sports scene. Oh, and he did so while suffering the symptoms of Tourette’s.

For the Utah Jazz, complacency is not an option. Yet this offseason has, once again, sent signals around the NBA that the team prefers a holding pattern rather than an aggressive approach on the market.

Looking back on Jose Calderon’s time in Toronto, you can’t help but be impressed and a little bit surprised that he would be in the position he now finds himself. His transformation from a nervous, timid, turnover prone rookie to one of the most respected and efficient point guards in the NBA is a story that should not be overlooked.