by Micah Hart

It’s been a minute or two since we’ve done one of these, but with the announcement of the All-Star starters, everyone’s attention is now on which players will be named All-Star reserves.

Last night on the TNT pregame show, Kenny, Charles, and EJ gave their picks for the East, and they all agreed on five players: Atlanta’s Al Horford, and the Celtics’ foursome of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen.

There was no consensus for the last two spots, as they each picked a different pair from amongst Miami’s Chris Bosh, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, and New York’s Raymond Felton. Given the lack of agreement,  I thought now would be a good time to revisit everyone’s favorite game, Extend, Trade, or Cut.

Just to refresh you on the rules, picture yourself as the GM of a mythical NBA franchise, and pretend that you have to choose between three players. One player you can extend with a new contract, one player you have to trade for some mythical asset(s), and one player you must cut from your roster for eternity (it’s a harsh world). You may choose each option only once.

Let’s examine the evidence:

Chris Bosh: Is he on the same level as his more famous teammates? No, he’s not. But he’s still a guy that can get you 20 and 10 on a given night, and he’s one of the sweeter-shooting big men in the game. He has caught some flak lately for suggesting that players maybe shouldn’t try so hard all the time.

Joe Johnson: For this exercise, we are only considering his merits as a basketball player. Therefore, you should disregard the fact that he most likely has at present the worst contract in the NBA. JJ’s had a bit of a down year, but some of that was due to an elbow injury, and he seems to have regained his form in January.

Raymond Felton: Has helped reignite the age decade old NBA question, is it the point guard, or is it Mike D’Antoni‘s system? On the other hand, some might argue that Felton has always been a capable PG, but was too restrained in Charlotte under the heavy hand of Larry Brown. Either way, there is no doubt that Felton is having a career year in his first season in New York City.

That’s the choices. What’s your decisions?

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