Yes, even though the NBA Playoffs are in full swing (and by full swing I mean hoping we avoid the inevitable train wreck that will be another Spurs/'Stons series) it wouldn't hurt to look into the future, into the off-season and some things that really need to be addressed.

Flopping

This is first and foremost. Before they even look at the changing the "No Leaving The Bench" rule, the head office needs to do something about flopping in this league. It's gotten out of control. A lot of people are pointing at the foreign-born players, calling them soft, saying it has something to do with soccer or some such nonsense. But that’s not the case, flopping is across the board. It's not just foreign born players like Anderson and Manu (although he might be the king). It's Steve Nash. It's Dwayne Wade. It has become a viable defensive option. It has become a savvy offensive move. After Game 2 of the Detroit/Cleveland series, Rasheed called out Varejao for flopping. 'Sheed said that if he can get T'd up for just about everything he does, then floppers should be getting techs too. And he's right. When the post-season is all said and done, The Association needs to sit down and make this their first move. No more flopping.

Portland and The Mystery of The Number One Pick

Who do they take? Is it Oden or is it Durant? Big men win championships. Since Jordan retired for the second time, Shaq or Duncan has won all but one NBA Championship. So they go big, right? But what if history repeats itself? What if Oden is Sam Bowie to Durant's Jordan? As unlikely as that might be, it's really a win/win for the Trail Blazers. They're going to get a franchise guy no matter who they pick, but with a few moves, they could make an even bigger splash on draft day. Here's how: Atlanta lucked out and got both of the lottery picks they could have potentially lost. But with the No. 3 pick, they aren't going to get franchise-changing guy like Durant or Oden, so why not trade that pick and get a few things? This is where Portland comes in. They're trying to move Zach Randolph, so why not move him and Jarrett Jack to Atlanta for their No. 3? This gives Atlanta the big man they desperately need and a point guard (which they probably would have used their pick to draft). Meanwhile, Portland uses this No. 3 to draft Mike Conley Jr, thereby replacing Jack at the point. Atlanta gets a few parts they can definitely use (and still has a lottery pick), and Portland adds Colney and Oden to Aldridge and Roy, which gives them the scariest young core in the league. They really have to try and make this happen.

The Kobe Situation

ESPN's Ric Bucher has never said a bad word about Kobe Bryant. Seriously, look it up. I doubt you'll find one disparaging remark. He's now reporting that Kobe either wants Jerry West as his GM or he wants out of Los Angeles. Well played, Mamba. The only problem is that this is almost completely out of the Lakers' hands. The Logo stepped down as GM of the Grizz so he could retire. If he wants to go back to LA then he will, if he doesn't then he won't. On the other side of this is Kobe's trade demand, which is ridiculous. Not only would LA not trade him, they can't. There's no way. There's not one deal that any single team could offer that would be logical on the Lakers' behalf. I mean, think about it, what do you offer for the best basketball player on the planet? Even if they got a team's entire starting 5 they'd still be getting ten cents on the dollar. It's just an impossible deal to make, unless LA is fine with just cashing in their chips for the next decade. The other thing that makes this story so funny is Kobe bitching about the moves the front office has made. Sure, Mitch Kupchak hasn't been the greatest GM, but the worst move the Lake Show has made was trading away Shaq, and that was all Kobe. So basically look for Bucher to play this angle up, but nothing's going to come of it. You know, unless the Knicks offer LA their next 25 first rounders, which could actually happen.

Brown and Out

No matter how many more wins and how far the Cavs get this post season, it's clear they have to make some moves. They’re far from great and the East can’t stay this bad forever. They've got a lot of dead weight (see: Eric Snow), but they also don't really have any players they can package together and get someone like Shawn Marion or KG. One thing they can do, and have to do, is get rid of Mike Brown. My opinion on him went from "they can do better" to "dear God, he's killing this team" this post-season. There's no way a team with this kind of line-up, and no big guys to pound it in to the low post should be running half court sets like Brown has them using. They need to run. They need to open everything up. They need to get LeBron going in the open court. In Game 3, the Pistons couldn't guard LeBron in the transition. That's because no one can. He’s too big, he moves to quickly, he's too powerful. Yet Mike Brown refuses to use this to his advantage. Instead, when LeBron is hot, defenses run a zone or double/triple-team him, forcing someone else to beat them. It just doesn't work. I'm not saying they should be running and gunning like the Suns or the Dubs, but they really need to quicken the pace up, and Mike Brown isn't the one to do it. So for the sake of LeBron, Cleveland, and anyone who watches the NBA, the Cavs front office really has to get someone else in there.