Can Danny?

I'm sure I'm forgetting some stories but it's one in the morning, I can't sleep and have to wake up in 8 hours to watch Syracuse's sad excuse for a football team open up it's season. Honestly, three wins or more and I'll be happy.  

Manu Down
San Antonio's title hopes to a shot when it was announced that Manu needs ankle surgery. The odd year dynasty might be coming to an end. In related news, Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden are both up and at 'em; their rehabs are going nicely and they look to be in game shape when the season starts.

Ewing is Back!
Patrick Ewing Jr. was traded to the New York Knicks for the rights to infamous draft bust/Vince Carter poster Frederic Weis. I kind of get why New York did it since Ewing could be one of their better perimeter defenders and would help guarantee that there will be a Knick at All-Star weekend (look up Patrick Ewing dunk on Youtube) but I don't really get it for Houston. Weis is washed up and they could have just waived Ewing. Maybe they just wanted to see if they couldn't help T-Mac's jersey sales in France.

One reason the Rockets didn't need Ewing was because they had just traded the other 2nd rounder they got for Artest for another son of a former New York star athlete. The Rox acquired DJ Strawberry for Sean Singletary.

The Grizzlies sign Iranian Big Man
So now a Serbian bust and Iranian big man will be battling for minutes while likely getting heckled by people from Tennesse. On the bright side, it might be the first time people in the Volunteer State are relieved to have a Gay guy around.

Monta Ellis out for 3 to 4 months
The dreaded high ankle sprain has claimed another victim. The Warriors main man will be out, which should mean more minutes for my man Kelenna Azubuike. The Ellis injury hurts the most because that team needed time to gel. As it stands now, Corey Maggette is going to become the main trigger man with Stephen Jackson helping out. It should be interesting if they are eager to share shots when Monta comes back.

Bring the Thunder! 
Oklahoma City is going to be named the Thunder. There was a picture of a possible logo but I don't want to link to it because it looked awful. It basically looked like the NCAA Tournament logo. Not bad for a tournament but terrible for a team. On the other hand, the former OKC team, the Hornets unveiled a pretty nice new logo. 

RIP Kevin Duckworth and Get Well Soon Wayman Tisdale. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The NFL is almost upon us so I thought I'd drop my predictions for this year's season. Of course, I'm going to pick the Patriots to win. I think the secondary will do just fine and Adalius Thomas is going to be better than he was last year because he's back to playing outside. I'm also happy to see a lot of experts picking Jerod Mayo to be defensive rookie of the year. All is well as long as Brady's foot is well.

My AFC picks are: Patriots, Chargers, Colts, Steelers with the dark horse being the Buffalo Bills.
My NFC picks are: Cowboys, Vikings, Saints, Carolina with the dark horse being the Arizona Cardinals

The Lions will start strong but then fade.

As for my Fantasy Football "sleeper" team. I've had DeAngelo Williams and Jerious Norwood the past two years and while I think both could do something this season, I just can't put them on my list.

QB: JT O'Sullivan; Chad Pennington
RB: Kevin Smith; Leon Washington
WR:Donte Stallworth; Tedd Ginn Jr.; Sidney Rice
TE: Kevin Boss
DEF: Arizona Cardinals

Edit: Courtney Taylor (WR - SEA) looks like a good early season addition.

Posted by SoulHonky at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been all over the map when it comes to Darius Miles. When he was on the Clippers, I was a big fan, rejoicing in the odd headbumps that he and Quentin Richardson would do. A few years later, I thought he became slightly overpaid and seemed like only a mediocre player. He proved me wrong by becoming an absolute disaster off-the-court and combining with Zach Randolph to be one of the biggest stat whore combos in recent memory.

Now the Celtics sign him and... eh.

I'm not happy that the Celtics have turned to Darius as a possible solution to their small forward issues but it's only a flyer so it's too hard to get worked up about it. In terms of talent, he should help defensively but he doesn't really fit Posey's role on offense (which was basically to launch up threes). I'm not sure who we have to do that since Tony Allen isn't much of a trey threat and I really hope we're not planning on giving Scal big minutes at the 3. 

In terms of attitude, I don't like it much at all. Darius was a grade A doofus for most of his career and while it would be nice to think that his injury might have caused his career to flash before his eyes, I'm not going to bet on it. Yes, KG is his idol but Darius is also the guy who said, "Look, I don't influence nobody. I can't tell no grown man what to do." so I'm not sure how well he'll take to KG's mentoring. On top of that, the Celtics have added JR Giddens who also is supposedly a bit of a "free spirit" shall we say and I don't like having Miles around him. As the old Al Maguire quote goes, "You can have one donkey on your roster, but you can't have two.  Because then they'll breed."

On the other had, there's always the fact that Darius Miles could be a lockdown defender and a good enough offensive player to be a legit role player on this Celtics team. Potential-wise, he's better than any remaining free agents. He might be the longshot to Devin Brown's sure thing but if there was a team that could take the risk, wouldn't it be the Celtics? Darius also has never been on a winning, veteran team so maybe he could straighten himself out ala Randy Moss.

All in all, part of me doesn't like that Danny Ainge seems to be getting a little too cute for his own good this off-season. He seems to be rolling the dice every chance he gets: letting Posey walk over a 4th year, relying on Tony Allen, reaching for JR Giddens, and now Miles. Will it matter? Who knows. But personally, I'd rather not even let the question arise. But Danny brought 17 to Beantown so he's earned the right to walk out on a limb. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have to realize that their window is closing and that this could be their last big push. Manu is 31 and Tim Duncan is 32 and the odds of them getting through seasons in one piece are getting slimmer and slimmer. They need to fill out the roster a little but as of now, I see this season as the Spurs Last Stand.

2. Los Angeles Lakers
One reason I think the Spurs need to focus on this year is because of the Lakers. A healthy Andrew Bynum alongside Pau Gasol and a healthy Trevor Ariza gives Kobe a great supporting cast. The Spurs may be the team to beat but the Lakers are the team that may beat them.

3. New Orleans Hornets
I've long been a fan of Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler and have finally admitted that I underrated David West but even with those things being true, and even with James Posey now in the fold, I just can't see the Hornets taking out the Spurs or Lakers in a playoff series. The sale of the 27th pick before the draft came back to bite the Hornets in the ass as they could have had Donte Green to replace Peja Stojakovic in the near future. Still, I think the Hornets need a find a way to upgrade at the swingspots if they really want a shot at seeing the Finals.

4. Houston Rockets
Ron Artest may be crazy but if there's a team that needed a little bit of crazy, it's the Rockets. They still have a hole at the point guard spot but the rest of the squad seems built for a nice playoff run. This may be Tracy McGrady's team but they are operating in Ron Artest's world now. If people can come to grips with that, T-Mac might finally get to see what the second round looks like.

5. Utah Jazz
This team just seems unhappy. Andrei Kirilenko always seems like he wants out, Carlos Boozer is rumored to be looking to leave next year, Jerry Sloan is Jerry Sloan. Rookie Kosta Koufos should fit in nicely but I don't see him being much of a difference maker (and possibly not even as good as Mehmet Okur). Like the Hornets, the Jazz also still have to better fill the SG and SF spots if they want to get past the Spurs and Lakers.

6. Phoenix Suns
The Suns are too good to not make the playoffs but they also aren't good enough to make too much noise in them anymore. The Robin Lopez selection was a safe one but it's not going to make them all that much better. The Matt Barnes signing is equally neutral. After this year, the Suns could find themselves in a position in which they are looking to move two former MVP's, Steve Nash and Shaq (both of whom will be expiring deals). Honestly, I would probably have started looking at those deals this off-season.

7. Dallas Mavericks 
I still think the best move for everyone would be swapping Jason Kidd for Allen Iverson but that looks like it will never happen. Dallas hasn't made any real moves this offseason and I really don't think a full pre-season with Jason Kidd is the cure to what ails them. In fact, one of the things that will ail them is watching Kidd get blown by by the likes of CP3, Deron, Nash, Parker, etc. Josh Howard is a nice player but they need to move him to get a couple of players to better complement Dirk and Kidd's weaknesses.

8. Denver Nuggets 
I really want to put the Blazers in the 8th playoff spot but I hate betting against Iverson and 'Melo. Losing Marcus Camby hurts but if Nene could finally be healthy, he could help out a bit. Even better, perhaps not having Camby's help defense around might make the rest of the team a little more focused on defense. Yeah, that might be wishful thinking.

9. Portland Trailblazers
I love how the Blazers have rebuilt their roster but I am concerned that so much rests on the weary bodies of Brandon Roy and Greg Oden. Of course, having LaMarcus Aldridge and Jerryd Bayless as your plan B isn't too shabby. The Blazers have too many people on their roster right now and need to make some moves but so far, they are headed in the right direction. Whether that direction leads them to the playoffs will depend on how Oden and Roy hold up this season.

10. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are what the Clippers have always been; a team of great individual talents that don't necessarily make for a great team. The Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby frontcourt doesn't exactly impress me and I'd really rather not have to watch a Baron Davis, Ricky Davis, Al Thornton frontcourt. I like Eric Gordon but think he has definite bust potential and isn't a better option than Jerryd Bayless. Elgin Baylor did a nice job with the bench, adding Brian Skinner and Jason Williams but I just don't see this team gelling under Mike Dunleavy or being consistent enough to make the playoffs.

11. Golden State Warriors 
The Warriors have amassed a nice lineup for the future. Their young talent of Monta Ellis, Brandan Wright, Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins, Marcus Williams, and Kelenna Azubuike is impressive. As for the present, I'm not sure what to make of this team. Monta Ellis isn't a point guard and I'm not sure if Marcus Williams is the right guy to team with him in the backcourt. Randolph and Wright are similar players and both beyond skinny. How Corey Maggette fits into all of this is also beyond me. Honestly, Steven Jackson, even with his craziness, is a better option than Maggs at the SF. Ronny Turiaf is the kind of signing that a team looking to add that one last piece makes. The Warriors still aren't sure if any of their pieces fit yet.

Chris Mullin could be set to make some huge trades in the near future but until then, this seems like a team that will supply some great highlights and a lot of losses.

12. Sacramento Kings 
While I liked that the Kings were able to Donte Green for Ron Artest, his talent is pretty similar to Kevin Martin and neither of them are all that great on defense (or even, all that good). On top of that, Jason Thompson, their reach of a draft pick, is also a perimeter based player with suspect defensive prowess. Anthony Randolph seemed like a better risk to take. The rest of the roster is about as average as you can get. Right now, the Kings are a team that is going nowhere fast.

13. Oklahoma City Thunder  
Seattle has had a solid off-season. While I'm not a huge fan of the Sergei Ibaka selection, they still added a solid young PG in Russell Westbrook and were able to dump a year off of Ridnour's contract AND bring back a better player (Desmond Mason).  The core of the new squad is slowly taking shape and the salary situation is getting better. I still think dealing Chris Wilcox makes more sense than keeping him but so far so good for Sam Presti.

14. Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies need to make some more moves but, on the bright side, they have the assets to make moves. I'm not a huge fan of Mike Conley/OJ Mayo sharing the backcourt but I'm not sure they can get legit value for Conley right now so they'll have to deal with it for a half season, at least. They have 17 million in expiring contracts with Antoine Walker and Darko Milcic so they could shake things up a bit. The key, however, is that they brought in a potential star in OJ Mayo and netted another solid player in Darrell Arthur with their late first rounder. Chris Wallace has his work cut out for him but he should be able to make moves to get this team back into the playoff picture in a couple of years.

15. Minnesota Timberwolves
I absolutely hated the Kevin Love for OJ Mayo trade. The Love/Jefferson frontcourt seems a bit problematic and none of their guards were good enough to give up on OJ Mayo, who could be a superstar. Mike Miller is a nice trade asset but he's not going to make the team much better. In fact, their defense might have gotten worse overall. Randy Foye, Rashad McCants, and Corey Brewer are going to have to be a lot better than most people expect them to be for this team to amount to much.

Posted by SoulHonky at 02:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. Boston Celtics
The Celtics lost a couple of key reserves but I still don't see any teams that are going to take down a focused Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. 

2. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons are getting older and they should probably think about revamping their lineup but they are still a very talented team and have some nice young talent coming off the bench. My only concern is that they are overrating the talent of Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson.  Kwame Brown's defense in underrated but I'm not sure how bringing him in helps a team that was already shockingly unenthused during the playoffs.

3. Orlando Magic
Mickeal Pietrus was a great signing and Courtney Lee seems like he should be able to deliver everything J.J. Redick failed to bring. I still think the team has flaws come playoff time, particularly at the point.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers 
I'm not wowed by either the selection of JJ Hickson or the addition of Mo Williams but I just can't imagine a LeBron James team is going to finish without home court in at least playoff series. Losing Joe Smith weakens their post play. If they can trade Wally Szczerbiak for a legit PF, they could move up to #2.

5. Miami Heat 
This team could easily fall apart. Dwyane Wade's been injury prone, Shawn Marion is playing for a contract, Michael Beasley is a bit looney, a rookie (Mario Chalmers) appears to be their starting point guard and their bench is weak. All that being said, I actually love the Chalmers, Wade, Marion, Beasley quartet and wouldn't want to bet against them. Then again, I wouldn't want to bet on Wade staying healthy either.

6. Philadelphia 76ers
I've never been a fan of Andre Miller and the last time he and Elton Brand played together, it was an utter disaster. Still, I'm a fan of Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young and think a smaller lineup with Brand in the middle could be very successful (and needs to be now that Jason Smith is injured).

7. Washington Wizards 
93 games. That's how much time was lost due to injuries to Washington's duo of Gilbert Arenas (69 games), and Caron Butler (24 games) and the Wizards still made the playoffs. If these guys could stay healthy and some of the young guys could ever show improvement, they might actually make it to the second round again. I'm not really banking on either happening though so it'll be another 40+ wins and a first round L.

8. Toronto Raptors 
I think Jermaine O'Neal could be Comeback Player of the Year candidate and Jose Calderon will emerge as one of the best point guards in the NBA however after them and Chris Bosh, the Raptors don't really have much. Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon are solid enough and perhaps Andrea Bargnani can develop now that the pressure is off but Bryan Colangelo is still keeping the pressure on Sam Mitchell to perform with a shallow roster.

9. Atlanta Hawks
Should anyone falter, the Hawks will be ready, willing, and able to take their playoff spot. Mike Bibby should be healed, Al Horford will improve, and the loss of Josh Childress was more of a PR-setback than something that will hurt too much on the court. The key is Marvin Willliams. If he continues to improve, the Hawks
might not need anyone to falter, they could earn their spot themselves.

10. Indiana Pacers 
If there are two people that can make a mediocre team outperform expectations, it's TJ Ford and coach Jim O'Brien. Larry Bird still needs to make some moves to get the roster into game shape but I'm expecting Ford, Dunleavy Jr., and Granger to keep the Pacers competitive.

11. Milwaukee Bucks 
This season pretty much rests on the shoulders of Ramon Sessions. If he can show that his end-of-season flurry wasn't a complete fluke, the Bucks could compete for a lotto spot. If not, the team has too many holes for even Scott Skiles to cover up. 

12.  New Jersey Nets
Yes, the Nets have blown up their roster but while they've lost their superstars, they've gained an edge. Vince Carter was a man on fire after the All-Star break and Devin Harris is emerged as a legit PG. I'm sure both of them will find some inspiration in the fact that so many people are counting them at. Add in Chris Douglas-Roberts looking to prove he should have been a first round draft pick and some hard-working role players and the Nets could surprise some people. Still, they probably won't have enough to really succeed and if Vince Carter has a great first half of the season, I can't imagine he won't be traded at the trade deadline.

13. Chicago Bulls 
I'm not sure Derrick Rose is going to be ready to play NBA-caliber point guard from Day 1 and nobody knows if Ty Thomas is going to be willing to give in even the old college try in terms of effort. After that, the roster is a bit of a mess. As it stands now, they are relying on Kirk Hinrich as their perimeter threat and Drew Gooden as their best post offensive option. If this roster doesn't change, Bulls fans should start keeping tabs on Blake Griffin, BJ Mullens, and the other top big man prospects in the NCAA.

14. Charlotte Bobcats 
I wanted to put the Bobcats higher but there's one problem: they aren't that good. Jason Richardson is a solid SG, Gerald Wallace is a solid SF, and Emeka Okafor is a nice big man. I don't even mind Raymond Felton. But after that the roster is thin and it seems loaded with people whom Larry Brown will quickly grow to loathe. Wasting their first round pick on Alexis Ajinca didn't help matter any either. I'm not a fan of the DJ Augustin pick either but I'm not ready to write him off yet. Unless Sean May and Adam Morrison can prove their critics wrong, the Bobcats will again be one of the worst teams in the East.

15. New York Knicks 
I'm not sure how adding the biggest partier from the Bulls, Chris Duhon, is supposed to solidify the point guard situation or help locker room chemistry any. The Gallinari kid sounds like a project, at the very least so I don't see how the Knicks are really going to improve.

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While Ben Gordon is making the most noise, there are still a number of quality free agents floating around. Which teams make sense? Will they be able to get there?

Salim Stoudamire: As much as I've supported Salim in the past, I think it's time for him to take the money and run overseas. He's a one-dimensional player who isn't really great at his one dimension. A lights-out shooter in practice and summer league, when it comes to actual games, Salim's knocking down just 36% of his triples. He could have more success on the court and in his bank account in a FIBA league.

Ben Gordon: The first thing Ben needs to do is stop talking to the press because nothing he's saying is helping his cause. Claiming that he should be the highest paid player because he's the Bulls leading scorer just strengthens the opinion that all he wants to do is score. He is indeed a gifted scorer but if Leandro Barbosa could only get 7 million a year, there's no way Ben is getting the 12 million he's looking for.

Although that's not the biggest issue Ben is facing. Right now, Ben Gordon just doesn't really fit anywhere. He would have been an ideal guy to pair with Brandon Roy, but the Blazers had Jerryd Bayless fall in their lap. Miami might be an option but they'd probably want a better defender to take some pressure off of Dwyane Wade. In the end, the one team that might need him most is Chicago. He's their best perimeter shooter and could pan out to be a better complement to Derrick Rose than Kirk Hinrich or Larry Hughes. While he might not like it, the best move is probably swallowing his pride, taking the qualifying offer, and earning minutes (and more money next offseason) with the Bulls.

Delonte West: A great player off the bench, West should have no shortage of suitors. Unfortunately, a number of his would-be suituors (Dallas, New Orleans, Golden St, among others) have already used their mid-level exception and don't really have much to offer him. His best option might be to head north to Toronto to backup Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon.

Devin Brown: I'm a big Devin Brown fan but it looks like the Celtics are done making moves. Brown will likely play for the vet minimum this year and the Cavs might be his option as he'll likely be the backup SF as soon as they move Wally Szczerbiak and his expiring contract.

Devean Geoge: George doesn't have much left in the tank but he can guard both forward positions so he should be able to find work somewhere. He might not be a bad fit as a backup in Indiana.

JR Smith: Smith, like Ben Gordon, is hampered by the fact that nobody can offer him big money and his team will match any smaller contract offer. He's also an all-offense player and, even worse, has red flags in terms of attitude. The Bulls could actually use his three point shooting but I doubt they want to add another questionable attitude onto rookie coach Vinny Del Negro's roster. Personally, I think the Nuggets should deal Iverson and re-sign Smith but perhaps JR's agent can work a sign-and-trade to get him to Seattle to play alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

Carl Landry: Landry's situation got a lot murkier when the Rockets acquired Ron Artest. The plan is to give Artest some minutes at the PF. With Luis Scola also at the PF spot, there aren't a lot of minutes left for Landry. While he's undersized, I think he would have been a better signing than Ronny Turiaf. He could be a Turiaf replacement for L.A. but I'm not sure if Houston wouldn't match any offer from a conference rival. He's be a nice fit for Indiana or Milwaukee.

Dorrell Wright: Wright seems like he could develop into a nice role player but he's still a major question mark and can't really be depended on. Unfortunately, I also believe that he needs actual playing time to improve so he doesn't really fit on a contender. Seattle seems like the best bet.

Kirk Snyder: Snyder seems like he should be a nice rugged swingman but he just doesn't put it together. The reason guys like Adrian Griffin make it over more talented first rounders like Snyder is effort. There just aren't many teams looking for a backup shooting guard with limited potential and questionable work ethic. He should probably start seeing if there's an Euro-interest.

Darrell Armstrong: The 40 year old point guard isn't going to bring much but a few teams could use those years of experience. If Armstrong is up for the mentor role, Portland, Chicago, Memphis, Seattle, and pretty much any team with a young lead guard could be interested.

Bonzi Wells: Bonzi is pretty much done. His best asset is the fact that he used to be a fairly good player which usually means it's time to head overseas.

Fred Jones: Fred Jones is a free agent this year because he turn down his player option a year and a half ago in order to make a trade to Portland, his home city, happen. Half a year after he gave up money to go home, the home team shipped him across the country to New York. Sympathy aside, Jones is a solid player and should be able to land on a roster, maybe Miami.

Robert Swift: Swift should probably just take the qualifying offer and hope that he can stay healthy and boost his stock.

Mickeal Gelabale: If the Bulls lose Ben Gordon, they might want to take a flyer on Gelabale, who is a willing defender and improving 3-point shooter. The Knicks also might want to give him a shot. Then again, playing time, money, and fame would all probably be improved if Gelabale returned to France.

Robert Horry: Yeah, he's Big Shot Bob but if you are a NBA title contender, do you really want a washed up 37 year old taking your big shots? His three point shooting plummetted to sub-30 last season and it's not like he's ever been a great locker room guy or someone you want hanging around young players. I could see a borderline playoff team adding him for a PR stunt but I don't really see a reason why a real contender would need him.

Damon Stoudamire: It's time for Damon to take a victory lap overseas where he still might be an effective scorer.

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While the theft of Pau Gasol seemed like a deal that never should have been made, perhaps Chris Wallace was on to something. In the end, he ended up netting Javarris Crittenton, Darrell Arthur, Marc Gasol and a 2010 first round pick and helped clear cap space for the future. That team wasn't going anywhere with Gasol, so why not take a step back. In fact, looking at recent history, the teams that have been the "loser" in All for Nothing swaps tend to pan out better than the people that got the superstar. Lopsided trades just aren't what they used to be.

To start, I don't consider deals in which both sides give up legit assets in this. Stuff like Shaq for Odom and Caron Butler or KG for Al Jefferson or T-Mac for Francis/Mobley aren't involved. The deals I'm talking about are the ones like the Gasol deal in which it seems, at first glance, like one team got a superstar without giving up anything at all. The deal that started the Bad Luck Bonus trend was likely Orlando's much ballyhooed sign-and-trade


Pistons lose Grant Hill, only get back Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins
Not only did the Magic give up future All-Star and DPOY Ben Wallace in order to finalize the Grant Hill sign-and-trade but in order to create the cap space to sign both Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill, they renounced their rights to disappointing youngster, Chauncey Billups.

While that lopsided deal made a little sense initially because it was a sign-and-trade, the more recent deals have been absolute dump jobs.

Allen Iverson goes to Denver for Andre Miller and two first round picks
The Sixers didn't exactly use the picks wisely (Jason Smith isn't bad but they dumped the other pick for Derrick Byars who never even made the team) but the financial ramifications aren't even close. The two years before Iverson, the Nuggets won 93 games and lost in the first round twice. Two years with Iverson, Denver had won 95 games and lost in the first round twice. Even worse, AI's contract combined with Kenyon Martin and Nene's signings basically forced ownership to give away Marcus Camby this offseason.

Hornets give away Baron Davis. Warriors only give up Speedy Claxton, Dale Davis and cash
The Hornets gave up Baron Davis for nothing yet in the first full year after the trade, they actually had a better record than the Warriors as injuries limited David to just 54 games. B. Diddy was healthy in his second year and made it seem like the Warriors made the right deal as they made the playoffs and upset the Mavericks. Unfortunately, they failed to make the playoffs this season while Chris Paul became an MVP candidate and the Hornets become conteders. Adding insult to injury, Baron Davis then flew the coop this off-season, leaving via free agency.

Vince Carter leaves Toronto in for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and 2 First Round Picks
Four years after this trade, the Nets have won 166 games to Toronto's 148, however the Nets are now blowing their team up while the Raptors made the playoffs. The Nets did make the semi-finals for two years but after an impovement in Year 2 VC, New Jersey's watched their win total drop by seven games each of the last two season, and went from the semis to a first round knockout to the lotto. Call it karma but Vince Carter wanted to win now and forced his way out of Toronto who is now winning while the Nets are holding out hope for LeBron in 2010.

What's really amazing though is the fact that the Raptors have improved in spite of making one bad choice after another. They blew one of the picks on Joey Graham (the following pick was Danny Granger). The lotto picks they got for being bad for two years were Rafael Arraujo and Andrea Bargnani. They even blew part of their cap space on Jason Kapono. Still, they got TJ Ford to help run the ship and once Jose Calderson was ready to take over, they moved Ford for help in the form of Jermaine O'Neal.

Not that the Rapz can get cocky about it because if the JO move doesn't pay off, the Nets giving away Richard Jefferson might help them steal away Bosh via free agency in 2010.  

And of course, there's The Zeke Trilogy 

The Knicks get Stephon Marbury & Anfernee Hardaway for Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, rights to Milos Vujanic, 2004 first round pick, and a future lotto protected first round pick
Yes, you read that right. The Knicks STILL owe a first round pick because of the Marbury trade (Utah now owns it). I don't think we need to explain what went wrong in NY with Marbury or how dumping Marbury's contract gave the Suns cap space to sign Steve Nash which helped the Suns a bit.

Interestingly, the trade in which the Suns got Anfernee Hardaway was almost a Something-for-Nothing disaster in its own right. The Suns gave up Danny Manning, Pat Garrity, a Knicks 2001 first round pick, and an unprotected future first round pick. The Knicks pick in 2001 was #18, wasted on Jason Collins but a number of talented players went soon after (Tony Parker, Gil Arenas, Gerald Wallace, etc.). The bigger issue, however, was the future pick. The Suns, thinking they were going places, didn't put any lotto protection on it so when they fell apart in 2001-2001 and landed in the lotto, that pick should have been owed to the Magic. That pick which ended up being Amare Stoudemire.

So what happened? For some reason, in 2001 the Magic traded the pick back to the Suns in a three team deal which saw them ship out Bo Outlaw for Jud Buechler and the right to swap 2nd round picks with the Clippers. In what may be one of the more overlooked lopsided trades of all time, the Suns acquired Amare Stoudemire for Jud Buechler and a washed up Vinny Del Negro.

The Knicks give up Anfernee Hardaway and Trevor Ariza for Steve Francis
Much like the Raptors, the Magic improved in spite of making some foolish decisions with their supposed short end of the stick. They traded Ariza for Mo Evans and Brian Cook (Cook is garbage and Evans has left via free agency) and they wasted their cap space on a huge 20 million per year deal for Rashard Lewis. Still, it's beter than what the Knicks ended up with...

The Knicks move Steve Francis, Channing Frye for Zach Randolph
Yes, others were involved but these were the key players. The Blazers bought out Francis and became everyone's favorite bandwagon while the Knicks managed just 23 wins and currently can't give away Zach Randolph.

The one team that seems immune to this trend are the Kings.

Philly fleeces the Kings, gets Chris Webber for Kenny Thomas, Brian Singer, Corliss Williamson
One reason this trade wasn't as successful was because the Kings didn't get that much cap space. In fact, Kenny Thomas's bloated deal is still on the books for another two years. On the bright side, the year after the deal, Sacramento finished with a better record than the Sixers. Chris Webber wouldn't even make it through his second season, getting bought out mid-way through the year.

Kings give away Mike Bibby for Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, 2008 second round pick
The move didn't really do much of anything for the Kings since they are still terrible and I'm not sure how lotto picks Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson are going to help the cause. Bibby, on the other hand, helped the Hawks break their playoff drought.

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'll fully admit that I was once a member of the Mo Williams fan club. I thought the C's should go after him when he was a free agent but then the Bucks gave him a big deal. Then Mo became one of the most frustrating players to watch. He once showed great promise as a point guard but when he gained the starting spot he proved to have a questionable hoops IQ. He masked this problem with this shooting and scoring but he never helped the Bucks win. He would end up missing a dozen or so games every year and basically just panned out to be a very good backup but not the PG of the future (nor the present).

In essense, he's a lot like Larry Hughes minus the defense.

So while some pundits and fans might laud this deal as just what the Cavs need, it's really just more of the same for Danny Ferry. The Cavalier defense is going to struggle if Mo And Wally World are ever on the floor together and opposing point guards are now going to have an even easier time against the Cavs. Rajon Rondo will have his way this coming season against the Cavs. IMO, the only way this trade works is if Mo takes over the backup PG spot and help out the second unit offensively.

Danny Ferry has one again made the big name acquisition who really doesn't do anything to help the Cavs. Even worse, the team could have used Joe Smith's shooting and if he's bought out, I wouldn't be surpised to see the Celtics make a run at him in order to replace PJ Brown. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been common knowledge for over a year now that the Pacers would like to move Jamaal Tinsley and his horrific contract. Now, Pacers owner Herb Simon has joined Bird and GM David Morway in outright saying it.

Pacers' owner Herb Simon is on the same page as team President Larry Bird and general Manager David Morway regarding point guard Jamaal Tinsley, according to The Indianapolis Star.

"Tinsley, he's probably outlived his welcome here," Simon said Tuesday. "He's a very talented player. Teams will give us a hard time because they know it's better for him and for us to have him play somewhere else. We're confident that we'll find a good place."

Bird said in a radio interview last month he doesn't believe in buying out contracts.

Maybe NBA GM's are even dumber than I think they are but why in the world would anyone trade for Jamaal Tinsley? He's a 30 year old injury prone head case who has three years 21 million dollars left on his contract. It's not that Larry Bird doesn't believe in buyouts but he better learn to believe in giving up Jeff Foster's expiring deal and possible one of his young players for a bad big contract in order to dump Tinsley. Of course, even then the guy he's probably going to be bringing back is a nutjob like Zach Randolph so it's not really a step up in the world.

While I usually get annoyed by Danny Ainge's obviously BS optimism in most of his interviews, it's better than having a GM who inexplicably tells too much of the truth about his players. I'd rather be fed propaganda about Gerald Green than actually had Danny come out and tell me that Green had zero work ethic and little ability to grasp the game. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)