NERDS AROUND TOWN

Nerds Around Town: Rain, terrible NFL and Batman Day

ART BY JESUS RODRIGUEZ

Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!

GOOD DEED OF THE DAY

I had been talking about a walk to fight melanoma called Steps For Melanoma Walk, but given the weather the last few days, the more important thing in the near immediate future is to focus on your friends and neighbors and local charities. Make sure everyone is dry and fed and warm this weekend.

WATER WOES

So when are we going to have the very honest conversation about the climate? I don't know a way to beat around the bush on this anymore, Houston is flooding regularly now. We've over-developed all of our drainage and water absorption away to the point that now we retain water all the time. On top of poor planning that is decades in the works (so we can't/won't blame any one party for it, it's us, Houston has been ignoring water run offs forever) the storms are getting larger and more powerful and more devastating in ways that are hard to even fathom. Over fourteen years ago our fun neighbors to the east, New Orleans, suffered their own catastrophic flooding and we were able to help them but we complained about taking on the residents and what our city "turned" into, all while ignoring the real lessons. Cities have to be able to handle the storms, and yet, 14 years later we're flooding and looking to Washington for help like it's their job to bail out our inability to learn a lesson. We complained about Louisiana's inability to properly handle their funds and infrastructure and yet, here we are, swimming for our lives.

BAD NFL

There are some dramatically bad teams in the NFL right now and the Titans and the Jaguars are two of those awful teams and this game last night was some bad football. Also on a side note, I have Fournette on my fantasy team and he lets himself get tackled 9 yards out after a terrible game?! C'mon man! Also it says a lot about Nike and the helmet company that they both dropped Antonio Brown the Patriots haven't and the NFL hasn't benched him. The fact that he didn't pay this girl $2 million dollars to settle confidentially may have been right ethically for him (I have no knowledge of facts in this case, simply speaking hypothetically) but it clearly was a poor business decision and sometimes these guys need better advice. I talk about good advice all the time and this guy is clearly in need of it.

DRAMA IN THE INDUSTRY

It's rare when a story is just full of awful people all around but the feud between Rob Liefeld and Terrific Production LLC fits that bill for me. Rob Liefeld has long been the Rockstar or the upstart of the comic book industry, regularly finding himself in the center of the several of the big dramatic moments in the comic book industry's history. Some great like the founding of Image Comics, which changed comic books for the better, to feuding with creators to being the guy who had his own Levi jean's commercial (true story). He was cashing million dollar checks as 19 year old comic creator and now has lost the rights to one of his biggest creations through poor decision making. The guy who has it has started up Terrific Production LLC and he seems like an absolute looney tune. He has done literally everything in the most inefficient and unproductive ways, insulting creators and seeming to know nothing about the climate of current comic books. It's been fun to watch.

NOT THAT YOU ASKED

Come hang out with me tomorrow afternoon at The Adventure Begins for Batman Day. It's going to be awesome! There will be a flippin' Batmobile there. Seriously.

Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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The Rockets have plenty of draft capital to play with. Composite Getty Image.

The NBA Draft Lottery has come and gone and the Houston Rockets fell just a number short of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.

With the intrastate rival San Antonio Spurs coming out of Tuesday holding on to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Rockets came away with the No. 4 overall selection. The Charlotte Hornets took the No. 2 overall pick and the Portland Trail Blazers ended up with the third overall pick.

While not winning the lottery stings for Houston, the results give the Rockets flexibility in terms of what they can do in the draft. They could stick with the pick and select from a plethora of talent, or they could be aggressive and choose to trade up to select either Alabama forward Brandon Miller or G League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson.

Here is what Houston could package in a deal to Charlotte if the Rockets feel inspired by the Houston Texans and opt to move up and get their guy at No. 2.

Firstly, why Charlotte and not Portland, who sits at No. 3? The main reason for it is that the Trail Blazers, despite the lackluster 2022-23 season, are looking to get back up to championship contention in 2023-24 in what could be the last attempt to win with star guard Damian Lillard.

Because of Portland’s mindset, it would be less inclined to be enticed by future draft capital in a deal. When you look at Houston’s current roster there is also not a player the Rockets can include in a deal that would instantly jump the Trail Blazers into the contention conversation.

While Jalen Green, Jabari Smith and Alperen Şengün could be impact players for Portland, the Rockets likely don’t want to trade anyone from that group of players either, at least its pairing of Green and Smith.

So the focus now turns to the Hornets. Charlotte has a perennial star in LaMelo Ball on its roster already, but the team is in much more dire need of adding as much talent as possible.

The non-negotiable that will need to be included in the deal is Houston’s No. 4 overall pick. That is a no-brainer. The Rockets also own the Los Angeles Clippers’ pick (No. 20 overall) that could also be included in a potential trade with the Hornets.

While the Rockets no longer control their own draft picks in 2024, 2025 and 2026 due to the Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul trade in 2019, they do own the Brooklyn Nets’ 2024 and 2026 first-round picks.

A package of the No. 4 overall pick, the No. 20 overall pick in 2023 and either Şengün, Kenyon Martin Jr., Jae'Sean Tate or one of the Nets’ 2024 or 2026 first-round picks should be enough to get the Hornets’ attention.

In exchange, the Rockets can add Henderson, who averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game in the G League last season. They can also take Miller, who put together 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest for the Crimson Tide in college.

While it is a hefty price to move up, the Rockets would have secured its core of three players in Green, Smith and whoever they take at No. 2 in this scenario, and they can add on from there in the future through free agency and trades.

If Houston believes the final piece to its core is available at No. 2, then no price is too big. With the Rockets set on phase two, the flexibility they have is an interesting luxury.

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