SoulHonky

The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Jackson wants a trade. He wants to go to a contender. But just last offseason, he signed a lengthy and relatively expensive extension to stay with the Warriors. An extension that makes him a very hard to trade, especially right now since so many teams are saving cap space for the 2010 offseason. Apparently, he doesn't care that the Warriors overpaid to keep him (and he agreed to stay), he wants out.

The Jackson case in one that seems to be plaguing the NBA. Guys will take the money and then suddenly whine that the team that really wasn't that good when they signed the contract isnt' that good. It's annoying for fans because now they have to deal with an unhappy Stephen Jackson. Even worse, Jackson has named five teams he wants to go to as if he's good enough to make those kinds of demands. Now if Stephen really meant it, he could agree to a one dollar buy out of his contract. That way he gets to be a free agent and Golden State isn't stuck with his contract on their salary cap. But he isn't going to do that because that could cost him 15 million dollars.

The biggest problem with this is that it's just one case in an ever-growing problem; a problem that could lead to a strike when the next Collective Bargaining Agreement needs to be negotiated. The issue is guaranteed contract. In football (which doesn't have guaranteed deals), the Warriors could just waive him, not owe him anything, and his contract wouldn't count against their salary cap. The problem with that, however, is that non-guaranteed contracts also allow holdouts, as players can demand a new contract after a great season. In basketball, I think this could be a huge problem so non-guaranteed deals aren't really an option.

I believe that guaranteed contracts are the way to go but what players and GMs/Owners need to realize that the onus in on themselves to make this work. Stephen Jackson commented to Dime Magazine, "At this point, I'm 31 years old. I have four or five years left. I want to be in a situation where I can continually be in the playoffs and get another ring. So that's where my mind is at now." Well, why wasn't his mind there last year when he was 30 years old? Did he really think the Warriors were going to continually be in the playoffs? The team had made the post-season once in the last 14 years and they had just let their captain and best player (Baron Davis) leave via free agency. When Jackson re-signed with the Warriors, he had to have known that this was a team that was going to have to fight to remain mediocre.

This isn't to say that all of the blame is on the players. It's annoying to listen to owners whine about exorbitant salaries when they are the ones who keep offering ridiculous contracts to people. The owners really have nobody to blame for most of these issues but themselves. Stephen Jackson's contract extension was a bad move when the Warriors agreed to it and it's not getting any better. Owners basically want a system that can save them from themselves. Actually hiring competent general managers or spending their money wisely seems like something that is just not possible.

In the end, either Stephen Jackson needs to realize that he made his bed and just needs to lie in it or this situation could get ugly. And not just ugly for the Warriors but for the NBA and their dwindling fan base.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:30 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

There are still a few valuable free agents left but most of the offseason moves are in the books and almost all of the big rumors are surrounding lesser teams so I thought it would be a good time to check in on the NBA and see how the teams are stacking up.

Obviously there are five teams at the top, the Lakers and Spurs in the West and the Cavs, Celtics, and Magic in the East. After that, it's pretty wide open with a number of teams looking to make it to the second season this year. Some of them are team trying to rebound from a lost season while a bunch of young squads have their sights set on getting out of the lottery and into the playoffs.

So how does it look right now?

Continue reading "Can Danny: End of Summer Rankings" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:05 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

Before his fight on Saturday night, Paulie Malignaggi said that the deck was stacked against him. He was fighting a Texan fighter in Houston, a city known for controversial decisions against out-of-towners. He claimed that two of the judges, Raul Caiz and Gale Van Hoy were biased especially biased. It also didn't help that he was fighting on a Golden Boy promotion and wasn't the Golden Boy sponsored fighter.

After the fight, all of Paulie's worst fears came true. Not only did he lose a close fight but one of the judge, Van Hoy, had an absolutely ridiculous lopsided score to the fight in Diaz's favor. HBO's Harold Lederman, on the other hand, had the fight in Malignaggi's favor. After hearing the decision. Paulie Malignaggi probably didn't do the smartest thing in the world; he spoke from his heart. His very pissed off heart.

He didn't calm down any in the locker room, giving this interview in which he said that Van Hoy "bent me over and fucked me" and said that fights like this are the reason that nobody watches boxing.

In an attempt to save face, Oscar De La Hoya said that he disagree with the lopsided scorecard (and pointed out that it wasn't the only one of the night) but the damage was done. I'm also not sure if that that was going to help out Paulie's cause with the promotional company after he basically said Golden Boy were cheaters.

But in case his post fight tirades weren't enough, Paulie updated his Facebook page with: "HOUSTON HAS A PROBLEM, AND ITS CALLED CHEATING. FUCK GOLDEN BOY FUCK THE JUDGES FUCK EVERYONE FOR TAKING SOMETHING FROM AN ITALIAN ONCE AGAIN."

You have to feel for Paulie Malignaggi but you also have to wonder if his mouth isn't giving him as much trouble as his opponents

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:39 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

Some people often wonder why I don't particularly care for the Sports Guy on ESPN. He's a good writer, funny, and occassionally knows what he's talking about but too often he pulls a stunt like his latest article. Around the draft, Bill Simmons wrote a long article about how bad the Clippers were, saying they were cursed, and claiming that it sucks that Blake Griffin is going to have to waste 5 years of his career there.

Fast forward to today. The Clippers have made one big trade, dumping Zach Randolph, and now apparently everything has changed. In fact, they not only have a "killer under-22 foundation" and a "a fun team for this season" but they are now the best destination for LeBron James. In fact, the future is so bright for the Clippers that he believes that someone should pay double to buy them. He'd recommend that someone pay 600 million dollars for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Now, Simmons isn't always like this, he occassionally goes down with the ship like with his Theo Epstein hate, but there are just too many times when he writes a long article preaching one thing and then weeks later makes the pronouncement that is a complete 180. He also likes writing articles that predict 20 things and if 2 of them happen, he acts like he's amazing. It just annoys me.

That is all. 

For now. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:22 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

The question of Will Wyc? still remains because while the Celtics did sign Rasheed Wallace, they were able to do it while lowballing him in terms of years (only a two year deal). It remains to be seen if Wyc will be willing to spend the bi-annual exception and also agree to a trade that deals Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine's expiring contracts for a player on a longer deal.

Still, the Rasheed Wallace deal is a great one. Wallace is a perfect backup to both Perkins and Kevin Garnett and singlehandedly replaces Big Baby Davis and Mikki Moore. (Although, a cardboard cutout of Rasheed Wallace with a Bob Marley wig could probably have replace Mikki). However Danny's job is only a third of the way done. The Celtics still need a backup PG (Eddie House is nice but they need someone who can bring the ball up against pressure) and, more importantly, they need a legit swingman to spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The Celtics simply can't expect those two to play the minutes they did last year. Even with the 'Sheed signing, if Boston goes into the season with Tony Allen and Bill Walker backing up the swing spots, it will have been a disappointing offseason for the Celtics.

As for the other NBA news...

Continue reading " Will Wyc?: Wednesday's The Week That Was" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:38 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

The NBA free agent market started off with a whimpering bang. Yes, there were a few of big name deals but I don't think that they'll actually do much to help the teams. Perhaps the main lesson we can take away from these first two moves is: Be wary of dumping talent for cap space.

Case in point: The Detroit Pistons. They dumped Chauncey Billups during the season and are letting Rasheed Wallace walk but now they've added Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. I'm just not sold on either guy. They seem like younger yet still poorer version of Billups and 'Sheed. They might be decent bench players but the Pistons just dumped 18 million a year on the two of them. The 'Stones will still have a lot of cap space come 2010 but how many big name free agents want to play with a backcourt of Rodney Stuckey and Gordon? Charlie V. strikes me as a good player on bad teams. Unless there's someone on the market who love rebounding and playing help defense, I'm not sure how enticing playing for the Pistons will be. It also doesn't help that the franchise is located in Detroit.

Example #2: Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis dumped Pau Gasol's contract and a year later decided to add Zach Randolph. Huh? Pau might not be a true #1 star but Z-Bo is a perennial loser. He's the type of player who gets his points but doesn't help his team win. He has some of the best post moves in the league but he's a black hole who has little-to-no passing skills. 

Even worse, the Grizzlies only gave up Quentin Richardson in the deal so they added 7 million in salary this year and a full max contract in 2010. So the Grizzlies came away worse on the court, in the books, and they now have a headcase/gunner who is pretty much the last guy that you want around your young talent. This deal won't be as bad as current Grizz GM/former C's GM Chris Wallace's Vin Baker deal but it's certainly not going to help the Memphis win many games.

As for the Celtics, they seem to be making a big push for Rasheed Wallace, who would be a nice pickup and a sign that the owners are willing to spend money. Hopefully they can land 'Sheed because if he goes to Orlando or Cleveland, it might be too much for the Celtics to overcome. I still think that the team should be planning for the worst and coming up with some possible Ray Allen or Rajon Rondo trades to help beef up the roster but, for now, all efforts need to be on trying to add talent via free agency and keeping the core together.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:17 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

With the NBA draft behind us, the focus is now on free agency and trades. The draft left some unanswered questions and the blockbuster deals sent a message to contenders that they better up their game if they want to keep up. Clearly, the craziness of the NBA offseason is only just beginnning.

The Amar'e rumor and some of the other trades are going to force the issue. As I've said before, a number of the big name 2010 free agents could find themselves off the market before the end of this offseason so teams can't really sit around and just wait for the other shoe to drop. Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson could find new homes this offseason, the Hornets are desperately trying to cut cap space and the Wolves now have the Ricky Rubio situation to deal with. Teams that are proactive will get the better of these deals while the ones that wait around might find themselves left out in the cold.

So what might transpire?

Continue reading " The Other Shoe: Ricky and "RuPaul"" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:16 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

I came in early to do work but have been sidetracked by the fact that "experts" seem to like the Washington Wizards draft. They could have had Ricky Rubio and DeJuan Blair (or a number of other prospects who fell to the second round) and instead have Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Granted, Rubio isn't ready to help from day 1 (in fact, that Dia Uno might not be until dos anos) but he has some trade value, more than Foye.

There's no worse article than Sean Deveney's piece for the Sporting News. In it, he claims that the Wizards were the ones that caused all of the crazy trades. He wrote, "Other teams around the East took notice of Washington's activity. And reacted."

No. They didn't.

To think that the Cavs and Magic were just going to stand pat but then the Wizards shook up the world is ridiculous. I mean, look at how Deveney describes the Wiz.

The Wizards started all of this. On Wednesday, Washington dealt away its No. 5 pick in the draft to Minnesota for guards Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Foye is a combo guard who had a breakthrough in the second half of last year, averaging 16.3 points. Miller is a nine-year veteran who has averaged 13.9 points and shot 40.1 percent on 3-pointers during his career.

 

Remember, these guys -- quality players both -- are likely to be coming off Washington's bench. Look at the Wizards, top to bottom, if they're healthy. The starting five is Gilbert Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with Miller and Foye (plus Nick Young, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee) off the bench. You won't find a deeper team in the league.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:23 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

This draft seemed like it was going to be hopelessly lost in the shadows. The talent pool wasn't all that intriguing, the trade of Vince Carter earlier in the day (along with the Shaq deal the day before) was the big news and then the world learned that the King of Pop Michael Jackson had passed away.

But then something strange happened. Actually a few things strange happened.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had five picks and drafted four point guard. DeJuan Blair plummeted along with a few other recognizable prospects. And the Celtics drafted a guy who somehow played D1 ball despite never being able to graduate from high school or junior college.

I'll write a longer post this weekend or maybe later next week but here are my quick thoughts.

Continue reading " Will Wyc?: Quick Reaction" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:27 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

The last mock draft before the actual draft and I've decided to forego the fake trades and just put forth who I think the teams should take with each pick.

Continue reading " Will Wyc?: Mock Draft 3.0" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 05:52 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

Well, seeing how much LeBron whines about calls, maybe it should be "Shaq and Awwww" but let me put my hate aside.

The Cavs landing the Shaq likely puts them at the top of the East's pecking order. However what could be even bigger is that they made the deal without giving up much of anything. They still have Zydrunas Ilgauskas's expiring deal to play with and they way this offseason has started, they could get a pretty good player in return. I wouldn't be stunned if they were able to swing that for someone and then make a run at a couple of ring chasing free agents with the MLE. Hell, if they can make a deal for one of the free agent PG's, they could also look to swap out Mo Williams for someone. 

The Suns, on the other hand, ended the worst era in Shaq's illustrious career. It turns out that losing Shawn Marion really wasn't much of a loss but it's kind of pathetic that they gave up Shaq for nothing. The Suns should begin rebuilding but that might be delayed a bit since they don't even own the rights to their own first round draft pick (The Thunder own that from the Kurt Thomas salary dump). The team gave away draft picks left and right and failed to add cheap young talent to help support (and eventually replace) their veterans. Who knows what Steve Kerr's next move might be. (One would assume that it is an Amar'e deal but Kerr probably just hurt his trade position by giving away Shaq).

On the other end of the spectrum, the Atlanta Hawks inexplicably added salary. This is a team that isn't flush with money and has to deal with Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, and Josh Childress as free agent (and Joe Johnson's extension next offseason) and they added 2 years, 20 million of Jamal Crawford. Now, I think Jamal got a bad rap in Golden State and he always seemed to brush off Don Nelson's cranky complaints but he's overpaid and really doesn't improve the Hawks all that much. If anything, the cap space they lost is probably more valuable than what Crawford brings.

The Warriors gave up nothing but got the best part of the deal. They also could use Speedy Claxton's expiring deal to perhaps make another trade in the near future. 

So far this offseason has seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer in talent so they don't get poorer financially and the Hawks doing what only the Hawks understand. But it doesn't seem like things are going to calm down tomorrow or even in the weeks after the draft.

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:09 PM | Permalink |Digg It!

I'm not sure how much I can quote from Hollinger's latest article since it's on ESPN Insider but he claimed that the trade of Randy Foye/Mike Miller for #5 pick showed that the Wizards were on the same path as the 2007 Celtics.

Huh?

I can see that he's saying that the Wizards are trying to win now but to compare the Wizards move to the Celtics' 2007 offseason is an overstatement that would make even Skip Bayless blush.

The most obvious difference is that they didn't improve on their core. The Celtics added Ray Allen and then moved Al Jefferson for Kevin Garnett. The Wizards added Randy Foye and Mike Miller to a core that has been together for four years and, when they were all healthy, mustered a 42 wins and a first round exit.

If the Wizards were really going for it ala the Celtics, shouldn't they have been willing to part with their best young player in order to land the big fish? The Wizards turned down a deal for Amar'e Stoudemire. I'm not saying Amar'e made the most sense but it would have been more like the "Celtics route" than this deal. If anything, the Foye/Miller trade is more like the Celtics' 2006 route of dealing the #7 and Raef LaFrentz for Bassy Telfair and Theo Ratliff.

Granted, Hollinger does write that he doubts that the Wizards' plan will work but if you have no faith, why pretend it's a good move or go so far to compare it to the offseason that led to the title coming back to Boston?

Finally, at the end of his article, Hollinger decides to stop making sense at all and contradicts himself. First he says that the Wizards gave up the #5 pick in order to dump undesirable contracts but then, in his summary, lauds them for not being afraid to spend money. He said that they were like the Spurs, who added Richard Jefferson for expiring deals.

Except the Wizard didn't add payroll. I'm pretty sure they cut it. The Spurs added 15 million to their 2010-11 ledger while the Wizards dumped 4.8 million off of theirs. I also believe that they cut some money off of next year's salary as well. Saying the Wizards are going the Celtics route is a massive overstatement but to compare their move to the Spurs' RJ deal just seems to be completely and utterly wrong.

The bottom line is that the Wizards held one tradeable asset this offseason and they just dumped it for two mediocre players and some savings. They didn't improve on any of their current stars. Hollinger is usually, despite his numbers fetish, a smart hoops writer but in this case, he simply looks lost.

Continue reading " John Hollinger Outdoes Himself" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:25 PM | Permalink |Digg It!

The draft is just three days away and still nothing seems to be set. Rumors have flown and almost all of them crash landed. Perhaps some big deals will start to emerge this week but right now it seems like teams might be forced to take the best player available and then work out a deal later.

One issue, of course, is that most of the big trade assets (like Bosh and Amar'e) won't be dealt until they agree to a contract extension while there are other players who might be a part of a sign-and-trade. Also, the recession and promise of the 2010 market seems to be keeping people from wanting to add salary. Even the teams that are willing to add some money to their ledger (like Houston) will probably prefer to hold out for better deals than give up a trade asset like Tracy McGrady's expiring deal for anyone in this draft.

Still, none of that means that I have to stop concocting deals. I might hate some of these deals when I re-read this later on today but here's what I've got right now.

Continue reading " Will Wyc?: Mock Draft 2.0" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:44 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

For three years now, ESPN's Math Man John Hollinger has floated his regression analysis of college players and claimed that it was a better predictor of success than the current scouting system. He cites his formula's success since 2002... even though he didn't unveil the plan since 2007 (and continually updates it to make up for his past mistakes). It's a brilliant scam; he uses sleepers and surprise success stories to help figure out how to create and perfect his formula and then he comes out and claims that his formula predicted the said sleepers.

Unfortunately, the system hasn't actually worked in the two years since he's unveiled it. Last year's draft was an utter disaster and 2007 had as many mistakes as it did improvements.

This year's article was especially full of itself so I felt the need to write Hollinger a little note.

Continue reading " Open Letter to John Hollinger" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:02 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

For those of you who didn't follow my Can Danny blog, I called the Golden State Warriors my favorite soap opera and always liked to follow the latest goings-on in the Bay Area. The newest development for the Warriors is that Monta Ellis, their young combo guard (but PG in his own mind), is now allegedly threatening to demand a trade if the Warriors draft a PG in the upcoming NBA draft. Ellis wants to run the show and is distressed that the Warriors might actually add someone else to take that role away from him.

Only in the NBA does someone threaten to make demands.

So what can the Warriors do to fix this?

Continue reading " This Week on "Golden State": Monta the Monster" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:48 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

For now, I've changed my basketball entries from "Can Danny?" to "Will Wyc?" because that's the question that really determines the Celtics' offseason. If owner Wyc Grousbeck and partners aren't willing to spend some money, then there's really nothing that Danny Ainge can do. If they will spend money, the C's could buy a first round pick (from New Orleans), use the MLE to sign a player or two, and perhaps make a trade to improve the squad, even if it does add money to the future payroll.

I've been thinking about my second Mock Draft but haven't really put too much time into it. Keep reading to get the rough draft with the first six picks and then some thoughts on the rest of the top 10.

Continue reading " Will Wyc?: Mock Draft Rough Draft" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:09 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

With their veterans getting older, the Celtics can't really give away their starting point guard for a kid who might not be ready to even be a backup next season. Hasheem Thabeet doesn't really make much more sense and James Harden looks to much like a role player to give up Rondo. But that doesn't mean a deal isn't out there.

With a little wheeling and dealing, the Celtics could turn a deal that could bolster their bench by the end of draft night.

Continue reading " Can Danny: The Rondomino Effect" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:12 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

The man who was Jesus (Shuttlesworth, that is) might need to be moved to help the Celtics fill out their bench. As it stands, the Celtics' bench is non-existant and things are only getting worse since Big Baby is a free agent and Tony Allen isn't. If the Celtics don't want to deal Rondo (which seems to be how most people feel), then Ray might be the odd man out.

Allen has a ton of trade value since he's a big expiring deal and an All-Star to boot. Teams that are building would love him because he has a killer worth ethic that you'd love your prospects to pick up and contenders would love to add him as a final piece to the puzzle.

So where might he go?

Continue reading " Can Danny: What's Would You Do with Jesus?" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:58 PM | Permalink |Digg It!

The most talked about name of this offseason will most likely be Amar'e Stoudemire. While most teams would probably prefer to go after Chris Bosh, the odds are that Bosh will choose his destination. Amar'e, on the other hand, is a man without a country. He's a super talent but he's also injury prone and has a lousy reputation as a locker room malcontent. The Suns haven't really hid the fact that they want to move him but they couldn't find any takers. So while Amar'e might actually be a better talent than Bosh, he could end up getting treated like the best expiring deal/salary dump ever.

So what deals are out there?

Continue reading " Can Danny: The Stud or The Mire" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:07 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

If there's such a thing as lowly recommending a film, I'd lowly recommend M. Night Shymalan's "The Happening". The film, in which people mysteriously start offing themselves, is a disasterpiece; so ridiculously bad that it's good. I personally believe that this was Shymalan's intention but the film isn't really funny enough to work that well as a Raimi-esque horror-comedy. In order for this film to work, I think people have to know that you're in on the joke and, in this case, Shymalan did such a good job making a bad movie that it looks and feels just like a bad movie. And that's not good.

Still, the film is on the cable movie channels now and is on DVD and I suggest people take a loot at it (unless, of course, they have anything remotely productive that they could do instead). For a taste of the grateness, here's a little scene.

The reason that I bring up that film is because the NBA is entering it's silly season. The summer is ripe for bad signings and stupid trades. Also, the NBA is still working in the shadows of an infamous year (and two days) in which some mind-blowingly bad trades were made (For the details on this, click the Continue Reading link). I doubt that this summer could be as terrible (one of the few good things to come out of the recession is that team's might use their brains before throwing money around) but it's already started off with a fizzle.

Anderson Varejao is reportedly opting out of the final year of his contract. The move is inexplicable for two reasons: a) he's probably not going to make more than the 6 million that he was due and b) next offseason is when people will have money to spend; this offseason has a limited amount of teams with cap space and most of them might be spending it on top notch players or saving it for the mythical 2010 season. And if you need a third reason, Varejao didn't exactly earn himself any money with his performance in the playoffs. The only move that might do a better job of putting the off in offseason is if Jamal Crawford opts out of his deal, worth 2 years, 20 million.

Hopefully teams will snap out of it and use their heads this summer. Maybe players will embrace common sense and agree to terms that help themselves and their teams. Probably not but one can dream, right?

As a service to GM's and players, I'd like to remind them of their mistakes of last summer. Mind you, this is only for last summer so deals like Billups and Shaq for Marion aren't eligible. Here is my take on the Ten Worst Moves of the OFFseason '08.

Honorable Mention: JJ Hickson over Courtney Lee - LeBron needed help now. Immediately. So Danny Ferry decided to take a raw PF. A few picks later, the Magic land Lee who played a large part in their run to the Finals and upset of the Cavs.

10. Wizards re-sign Antawn Jamison: Not that Jamison is bad but he's not worth the money they offered him (4 years, 50 million) and they were keeping together a core that would have to overachieve to win a  game in the 2nd round of the playoffs (if they could make it back).

8. Ben Gordon turns down 5 years, $50 million: Ben had a nice playoffs... and still might not be able to get a deal as good as this one.

7. Sixers sign Elton Brand: Brand didn't fit the Sixers offense, then got hurt, then tried to come back but everyone realized they'd probably just be better without him. I'd be stunned if priority #1 this offseason for Philly wasn't finding a taker for Brand.

6. Boston Celtics don't re-sign James Posey: Would Posey have made the difference in the Magic series? Perhaps. One thing that is for certain is that relying on Tony Allen is about as bad of a plan as thinking Patrick O'Bryant or Mikki Moore can bring something, anything to the table. Oddly enough, the Hornets signing James Posey also backfired as the Hornets are now desperate to cut costs and would love to get rid of Posey's contract.

5. The Bulls re-sign Luol Deng: Mr. Untouchable was the reason many a trade didn't go down for the Bulls and now they can't wait to dump him. I still have faith in Deng and think that, talent-wise, he'd be an almost perfect fit in Portland. I just don't know if they can afford his contract with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge coming due for contract extensions.

4. The Warriors sign Corey Maggette: Most basketball fans were talking about where Corey would end up as an MLE signing. The Warriors then rushed in and offered him a surprising five year, 50 million dollar contract. Corey had a decent season but the MLE was more fitting, not because that's how much he's worth but because he is a "ME" first guy and that leads to an L for the team. (I'm so clever)

3. Clippers sign Baron Davis: Maybe Baron can turn it around but right now he looks like a banged up veteran who isn't as good as he once was and doesn't seem completely focused on trying to get back to his past glory. Before the season, I really think Davis was more focused on his website than winning. Maybe the arrival of Blake Griffin and the insult of the Clippers not being able to literally give him away will get the fight back in him. But even then, there's the question of how much fight his body has left in it.

2. Wizards re-sign Gilbert Arenas: Any team that wants to sign Amar'e Stoudemire is going to think twice because of Arenas. Gil, like Stoudemire, was a super-talented 26 year old who was coming off of a major injury. The Wizards had faith and invested in him to the tune of 6 years, 111 million. And then Gilbert got hurt again. In 2009, Gil Arenas basically made a million dollars for every game he played in the last two years.

1. Kings re-sign Beno Udrih: While Udrih's 5 year, 32 million dollar contract pales in comparison to Arenas's deal, Beno's deal is worse becaue Gilbert can actually play. Udrih was a 25 year old PG coming off of a career year of... 12 points and 4 assists a game. Now he's due to make 8 million dollars in 2012. And after spending that money on Udrih, the Kings' most pressing need that many would call a desperate need is an actual point guard. The recession hitting Vegas and the Maloof's hard doesn't help make the contract look any better.

As for the blow-by-blow of the Year (and 2 Days) of Living Dangerously Stupid, keep reading.

Continue reading " Can Danny: The Happening" »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:09 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

I'm thinking about folding my other blog "Can Danny" into the main SoulHonky.com. It's nice to have all of my basketball rantings corralled in another blog but I really don't have time (or I shouldn't be wasting the time) to keep up content for two sites. I'll still call my hoops stuff Can Danny for now but I need a new names. In fact, I'm trying to figure out a new name for the blog as a whole; I've been thinking "Mainstreamish" but I'm not really sold on that.

Anyway, onto hoops! The NBA Draft is usually when I'm at my peak of hoops posting so I hope people won't be too thrown by the amount of basketball discussion here.

For the first post, I'll unveil my first mock draft for 2009, complete with a number of trades that I think could help both teams (and, I'm sure, a couple of deals that I'll look back at in a few hours and wonder, "I didn't really type that, did I?"). So here it is:

2009 NBA Mock Draft v1

#1. Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin
#2. Los Angeles Lakers (via Memphis Grizzlies): Ricky Rubio
#3. Oklahoma City Thunder: Hasheem Thabeet
#4. Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans
#5. New Jersey Nets (via Washington Wizards): James Harden
#6. Golden State Warriors (via Minnesota Timberwolves): Stephen Curry
#7. Charlotte Bobcats (via Minnesota Timberwolves via Golden State Warriors): Jordan Hill
#8. New York Knicks: Brandon Jennings
#9. Toronto Raptors: Dermar DeRozan
#10. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Milwaukee Bucks): Jrue Holiday
#11. New Jersey Nets: Earl Clark<
#12. Charlotte Bobcats: Gerald Henderson
#13. Indiana Pacers: Jonny Flynn
#14. Toronto Raptors (via Phoenix Suns): BJ Mullens
#15. Detroit Pistons: Terrence Williams
#16. Chicago Bulls: DeJuan Blair
#17. Philadelphia 76ers: Jeff Teague
#18. Milwaukee Bucks: Eric Maynor
#19. Atlanta Hawks: Ty Lawson
#20. Utah Jazz: Tyler Hansbrough
#21. New Orleans Hornets: Austin Daye
#22. Los Angeles Clippers (via Dallas Mavericks): Darren Collison
#23. Sacramento Kings: Nick Calathes
#24. Portland Trailblazers: Victor Claver
#25. Oklahoma City Thunder: Chase Buddinger
#26. Chicago Bulls: James Johnson
#28. Golden State Warriors (via Minnesota Timberwolves):  Sam Young
#29. Los Angeles Lakers: Dajuan Summers
#30. Cleveland Cavaliers: Marcus Thornton

The Lakers at #2? New Jersey at #5? To see the trades that went down and a more involved discussion of the mock, keep reading.

Continue reading "Can Danny: SoulMock #1 " »

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:16 AM | Permalink |Digg It!

While everyone is clamoring about the free agent market of 2010, I think it could turn out to be much ado about (next to) nothing. In fact, half of the big movement could be done by the end of this summer.

The Toronto Raptors realize that now is there best chance to get something for Chris Bosh since the odds are 80/20 that he's leaving (if they're even that good). Since nobody is likely to offer much in return for Chris if he doesn’t agree to an extension before the deal, it means that Bosh might be off the market very soon. If he goes to someplace like Miami, that would likely take Dwyane Wade off of the books as well as he’d sign an extension to team with Bosh for the beginning of the next decade.

Still, there are a lot of names out there, right?There are now but look at who's out there and who might sign extensions this summer.

Portland's front office loves their team chemistry and will likely make a concerted effort to extend LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy's contracts before the start of 2009-10. I'd be stunned if Mark Cuban didn't offer Dirk Nowitzki whatever he wanted to stay in Dallas. Paul Pierce has talked about retiring in green and being a lifelong Celtic so I'd be kind of surprised if he left.

But even if he and Dirk did go somewhere else, they are veterans who are on the wrong side of 30 and starting to decline. No, they won't be washed up but I don't teams like Detroit, New Jersey, and New York blew up their squads so they could maybe get one or two years of contending before the guys they signed to huge deals aren't really worth their bloated paychecks. A number of the big names are like this: Ray Allen, Shaq, Steve Nash, and Manu Ginobili. Even a guy like Joe Johnson will be 29 and probably will start to decline in the middle of his next contract.

That leaves the grand prize LeBron James. Second place is the NBA's equivalent to a set of steak knives; Amar’e Stoudemire – an uber-talented headcase with major injury history. I really can’t believe that many teams are going to be lining up to give him 20 million a year. If a GM ends up in third place? "Third prize is you're fired!" because after Amar'e's gone, the remaining free agents are either restricted (like Rajon Rondo, Ty Thomas, Luis Scola, Rudy Gay) or second or third echelon guys like Josh Howard and John Salmons.

So while there are a lot of names to discuss in 2010, it’s not as if teams like New York, New Jersey, or Detroit will be able to completely revamp their team and build a contender for the next decade with the players available. It’s far more likely that one team like New York will land a couple of these top free agents and the rest of the league will be stuck overpaying for veterans who are on their last legs

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:27 PM | Permalink |Digg It!

Early reaction to the NBA lottery over at Can Danny?.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:06 AM | Permalink |Digg It!