Finally the draft is over, so now we will endure a long hot summer of speculation on who made great moves and who slit their own wrists. Here, of course is my humble (and sure to be mocked) assessment of:
The lottery picks:
1. I understand Chicago taking Rose #1. He's a hometown boy, he's a winner and their PG's have been playing soft. Still, all of this nonsense about him being the best player in the draft is absurd. Beasley was far and away the best player in the NCAA all of last season and it was a forgone conclusion that he would be the overall #1 until Memphis' great NCAA tourney run. If Beasley had Rose's teammates he would've beaten Kansas in the title game.
2. Riley was almost too smart for his own good when as the draft got closer he started waffling on Beasley. Lucky for the Heat they made the right move. In one season Marion will be gone (if not sooner). In two seasons Wade will be gone (if not sooner). Beasley is a natural scorer and while Mayo will indeed be a star in the league, there will be other PG's available in two seasons, interior scorers will be less plentiful.
3. I like Kevin Love very much, but if McHale was gonna go for an interior player he needed more size, and while it's hard to knock this pick, Mayo along with Foye and Jefferson would've given the Wolves more threats offensively.
4. The best possible scenario for Seattle (Oklahoma?). They needed to surround the defensively challenged Durant with defensive players on the perimeter and Westbrook fits that need perfectly. Bayless would've taken shot attempts away from Durant and clearly the Sonics are looking for KD to be in Kobe mode for his career.
5. Memphis is headed nowhere fast. Mayo is a great talent, but unless they have some plan to get some interior scoring, Mayo is going to exit stage left at the first opportunity. They keep drafting guards (Lowry, Conley, Mayo) and odn't forget they also have Crittendon. Maybe, hopefully, another deal is on the near horizon.
6. Why not draft Garllinari here? He's no less than the fifth best scorer in this year's draft. The impact players were off the board, well maybe not all of them and the Knicks need to rejuvinate the fan base more than anything since winning basketball games isn't going to be easy as long as Marbury is on the roster. New York is essentially Little Italy so they'll love him in Gotham.[ Side note: I'm amazed that Brandon Rush, who was supposed to be a top five pick two seasons ago faded so far. I would've loved to see the Knicks go with an upperclassman with some intestinal fortitude here. Rush will be a star in the NBA for years to come, this was the Knick's chance to show some real draft insight and they blew it.]
7. Eric Gordon, like someone else said earlier, is a an undersized choke artist. He's not a skilled enough ball handler to play the 1, and if he thinks that he'll be getting that jump shot off against 6' 6" SG's in the NBA he's sadly mistaken. A lot of hype behind this kid, but I really didn't see much of an NBA game while in colege. Rip me if you want, there are always huge busts in the top ten, Gordon will be one of them. The Clippers are the perect place for him, he's one Al Thornton punch in the grill away from heading to Europe.
8. Joe Alexander looks like he could be a real good NBA player. He reminds me of Rex Chapman and Chapman was a solid pro. He goes to the rim hard and has a natural knack for scoring. If the Bucks can find time for him, RJ and Mo Williams on the florr at the same time, they'll be a contender for the post season again. A good replacement for Bobby Simmons.
9. The Bobcats could've gotten the same deal from Toronto that Indiana got, instead they get D.J. Augustin. Even if they are shopping Felton, I don't think that Augstin is any better than Acie Law was last year. I don't get it.
10. The Nets are gearing up for the arrival of King James and they are doing a very good job of it. This team is huge now and they have Devin Harris running the point. This is the team of the future in the East.
11. The Pacers have reinvented themselves overnight and getting T.J. Ford, Hibbert and Rush after losing O Neal was a great move. Look out for this team..wait a minute...who's coaching them? Oh yeah Jim O Brien!!! They're back in a big way. I really like this team now.
12. I don't know much about Jason Thompson aside from what I heard Jay Bilas say, but it's not like the Kings were planning on contending anyway. Why waste the money on someone who'll want $60 million in three seasons?
13. The Blazers end up with Bayless, who will #### off Barndon Roy sooner than later. A lot of people were high on Bayless, I was not one of them. He's a great colegiate scorer but has not shown to be a great passer, which is what he must learn to do first and foremost on a team with a former ROY and the supposed second coming of Duncan.
14. Baron Davis is soooooo gone.
Other notes:
Is it me, or do the Utah Jazz go out of their way to draft white players?
Tiago Spliier is not coming to San Antonio right now, but how many people realize that Luis Scola was on their roster last season? This team may actually have seen it's last hurrah.
Why didn't the Wizards make themselves busy with trades for picks? Do they really think that team is going to contend after losing three straight years to the One Man James Gang?
Wow! Have the Suns done an about face or what?!
Where is Coutney Lee going to find shots on the Magic's roster? Shouldn't they have found a big body to put around Howard?
Detroit you are the first team officialy on the (trade) clock.
Anyone who has ever read anything that I've written about Kobe Bryant knows that I have been a huge fan of his...and I still am.
Kobe has treated us to some of the most memorable moments the NBA has seen in the post Jordan era.
Unfortunately he has also given his fans some disappointment to go along with his hoops greatness.
While his infidelity, smugness and often abrasive personality has given rise to quite a bit of unnecessary venom from sportswriters and NBA fans, his basketball skill has usually been unchallenged.
This season had been a sort of coronation of Bryant as he finally seemed to come from under the shadow of the baggage he had accumulated over the years; The Shaquille O'Neal trade, the Eagle Colorado sexual assault trial, the so called selfish on-court play as well as his willingness to throw his teammates and management under the bus.
He won his first NBA MVP award and he finally led his team back to the NBA Finals in a season that began with his tenure as a Laker in serious doubt.
Bryant and the Lakers' blitzkrieg of the Western Conference in this year's post season had many basketball pundits etching L.A.'s name on the Larry O'Brien trophy before they had even stepped on the floor for Game 1 against the Celtics, present company included.
Even after the Lakers went down two games to zero, most people thought that once Kobe went home to play in front of his Hollywood pals, the series would dramatically alter course. It almost did.
After wining an ugly Game 3 at home, the Lakers started Game 4 playing as if the Boston Celtics didn't even belong in the same league as them. Then came the biggest collapse in Finals history and the writing was on the wall. Surely Number 23 would never have given up a 24 point lead at home.
Like the guy in the GMC commercials that saturated the Finals coverage said; Kids in America don't walk around with shirts that say "I almost won.
This was supposed to be Kobe's year. It was all laid out for him. The stars appeared to be aligned in just the correct sequence for us to witness another Jordanesqe moment of KB 24 as we all prepared for the inevitable tears and champagne that would finally solidify Bryant as being truly "like Mike".
But alas, there will be no cheers in Tinseltown. No parades down Rodeo Drive. No I told you so from Kobe or his legion of fans.
After Game 4's meltdown, the Lakers managed to win an even uglier Game 5 to send the series back to Boston with a chance to make history. More importantly a chance for Kobe to make his own history.
No team had ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals. Surely if there was a player who could pull off the impossible, it was the guy who once scored 81 points in a single game. The guy who once outscored the Western Conference Champions by himself over three quarters. The guy who once scored over 50 points in four straight games.
The moment was there for Kobe to seize and KB24 fans waited with baited breath to say to the world we told you so. But the moment never came.
Bryant nailed three shots from the behind the arc in the early moments of the first quarter in Game 6 and I thought to myself, those shots were pure liquid.
I had flashbacks of Jordan dropping 63 on Bird and Co. in 1986.
But that was it. The highlights were over as Boston's suffocating defense and spirited bench play eventually ran the Lakers out of the gym by halftime.
Forget the controversy surrounding the officiating. Forget the fact that the Celtics did in fact play superior defense than Lakers, (who looked like they were studying the George Karl defensive play book). Forget the fact that Doc Rivers was schooling Phil Jackson on the bench. Forget even the fact that Kobe's supporting cast never really showed up for the Finals.
I, we, were waiting for the moment when Bryant said forget this, it's time for me to take charge.
The moment(s) never came. The victory by sheer willpower never materialized. In these Finals, Kobe played a little too much team ball and too little 'Black Mamba' ball.
Kobe may very well be the most talented player to ever lace 'em up, he certainly has the statistics to argue the point.
But unless he rattles off about three titles in a row, these Finals will be the blemish that all of his detractors will point to as the moment we all had to face the fact that maybe Kobe really isn't like Mike.
Bryant still has a lot of basketball left in his tank, but with younger players like LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant hot on his tail, his window is closing sooner rather than later.
Maybe Kobe fans should just take the 81 point game, the scoring titles, the three rings with Shaq, the MVP award and enjoy it, because maybe we won't get much else.
All in all a superb, Hall-of_fame career without question.
But when Kobe had a chance to become a legend, well, he just didn't make it happen.
Finally, it's time for Jackson and the Lakers to get out of Kobe's way
True to my word, I have not watched games 3 & 4 of the NBA Finals in my own silent protest to the officiating (like anyone cares).
So I turn on my computer the other morning and see that the Lakers blew a 24 point lead in losing to the Celtics in game 4. Of course I'm moderately stunned.
I say moderately because anyone who watches the NBA regularly knows that everybody goes on a run. Even in the horrendously officiated Game 2, the Celtics allowed a 20+ point lead to dwindle to two points in the fourth quarter before closing out Kobe & Co. at home.
So now that the Celtics have all but clinched the 2008 Championship, the series just got interesting.
If I were a betting man (which I would be if I had Charles Barkley's money) I would certainly take the Celtics in five.
I just realized how painful it must be for David Stern to hear the words betting and Finals in the same sentence.
However, since I don't have Barkley, or Donaghy money for that matter, I'm going with the Lakers in seven. Please, stop laughing.
Hey, what do I have to lose? Right?
See, I think right about now, that's what Kobe Bryant is saying to himself.
"What have I got to lose?"
Already, Black Mamba has been knocked off his pedestal by every sportswriter on the web.
Kobe isn't like Mike, Stop the MJ comparisons now, etc. etc. etc.
But as anyone who has ever rooted for KB 24 knows, it is always when his back is against the wall and people are spewing the most venom at him, that he does something to amaze and astound us.
Case(s) in point:
#1. Can anyone tell me what team Smush Parker plays for off the top of your head? If your answer is Miami then you are incorrect. The last roster that featured Parker's name was the L.A. Clippers and there are six point guards listed on the Clippers' roster so his appearance really doesn't say much.
Why is that important?
Because this is the guy who was the starting point guard for the Lakers' two previous post season runs which included a 2005-06 series where the Lake Show (up 3 games to 1 at one point) was one Tim Thomas three pointer away from sending MVP Steve Nash and his fast break offense into an early vacation.
Kobe was heated that he was playing on team that had Kwame Brown and Smush Parker as starters and he willed that team into the post season by himself (twice) and yet Nash, who was playing alongside two other All-Stars (Marion, Stoudamire) was being hailed as the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
By now Kobe was fed up with being blamed for everything that was wrong with L.A. and singlehandedly torched the league for two straight seasons and while many writers still wanted to bury the guy, the other players in the league began to bow down to Kobe, Don Corleone style, lest they be on the receiving end of some thing like....
#2. In December 2005 The Lakers beat the Mavericks 112-90 and Kobe outscored the entire Mavs team over three quarters.
Of course Bryant was blasted in the media, not for scoring 62 in three quarters, but rather for depriving us sports fans of an opportunity to see someone challenge Chamberlain's 100 point game.
Quick note: Kobe scored 42 first half points against the Wizards in Jordan's last game with that team and nobody complained about that because the haterade hadn't started yet.Shows you how fickle sports writers are.
So despite abusing the Mavs, the eventual Western Conference champs that year, in an impressive display of scoring, Bryant had to endure the wrath of a Shaquille O'Neal jock strapriding media who now suggested that Bryant was selfish for not scoring more. So what does Kobe do the quiet the critics who accused him of selfishly sitting out the 4th quarter against Dallas?
#3. Yeah, we all know what happened on January 22, 2006. Barely a month after being slammed for not finishing off the Dallas Mavericks, Bryant exploded for 81 points against the Toronto Raptors scoring 55 points in the second half. Can you imagine if he had been trying to take over in the first two quarters? Did that silence the critics? Of course not. Did Kobe care? of course not, he had proved his point...again. Which brings us to...
#4. The 2007-08 off season is dominated by the fact that Bryant is tired of playing against teams in the post season with multiple All-Stars and he has to play against them with guys named Kwame, Bynum and Smush so he wants out. The Lakers, who are not dumb enough to trade both Shaq and Kobe, hold tight and wait to see if they can get their pal Jerry West to facilitate the second biggest steal of the season (McHale, Garnett, Boston, Al Jefferson and the cast from Seinfeld?..come on now). Of course West does his Monty Hall impersonation and viola! In a season where everyone thought that Kobe would be wearing a Bulls uniform by October, Bryant wins the MVP, makes All-Defensive first team and carries the Lakers to the NBA Finals.
So now Kobe is here, down 3-1 to Boston.
Just like my making this insane prediction, Kobe finally can come into games 5, 6 and 7 and not care whether or not his teammates get their touches. He doesn't have to care about the Jordan comparisons. He couldn't care less what Phil Jackson will have to say during timeouts. Just like when he went for 81 against Toronto, there are times when Phil Jackson knows that even he has to just get out of Kobe's way and let him do what he does best.
Despite Boston being up 3 games to 1, trust me everyone of the Celtics' players in the back of their minds does not want to be the one having to deal with Kobe on Sunday, even Paul Pierce. It's Mamba time.
Don't forget that in 2004, down 3-1 to the Yankees in the ACLS, the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to rally from that deficit to win a League Championship. That's the thing about 'odds', sooner or later they are bound to reverse course. That's why they are called 'odds' and not inevitabilities.
Sooner or later somebody has to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win it all. The odds say that if has to happen sooner or later.
Well, these Finals feature Kobe Bryant and if I were a betting man....
I'm not watching the Lakers-Celtics game tonight, I'm working on a track for the new Trey Sixes album, that is going to be hot (unless you're a member of law enforcement, but I'll keep you guys posted on that later).
In fact, I watched the first quarter of Sunday's game before turning off the television. I'm done with the NBA this season. If I were a betting man there are two sure bets I see for this season.
The first is that there is no way in hell that tens of millions of white Americans are voting for a black president (see West Virginia), so John McCain is a lock.
The second is that somebody, somewhere has already mandated that neither Phil Jackson nor Kobe Bryant will be adding any hardware to their jewelry cases this year.
Personally I felt that game one was a horribly officiated game, but Pierce's gutty performance alone made the Celtics deserving of that win. Still, the Lakers must have gotten too close to a victory for somebody's liking, because game two was over after the first quarter, which is when I turned the television off. My cousin called me midway through the third quarter to ask how did I like the fact that L.A. was down by 20 points, I told him that after Kobe was called for two off-the-ball fouls in the first quarter, I was done watching this series.
Of course Boston fans and Kobe haters will point to all sorts of rationale to suggest that Lakers aren't playing hard enough, that Boston is playing with more passion...whatever. Anyone who has ever played the game at a high level understands that the refs set the tone for a game early on. Once it is established that one team is not going to be getting calls the whole dynamic of your game plan changes.
We've seen this before, Heat-Mavs - Suns-Spurs - Jordan-Byron Russell...Barry-Fisher.
What has upset me was that I don't believe that Boston needed any help from the zebras in order to make this a competitive series. Without question, Boston's bench has out performed the Lakers subs...far and away. Kobe has been Kobe, he puts up a lot of shots unless his team has the lead, there's nothing new about that. He's still the leading scorer of the series. So what he's not getting to the line? He didn't get to line against the Spurs. He doesn't have to get to the line to score 30 points, he's Kobe.
People talk about Garnett's energy, but his stat line doesn't suggest that he's doing very much more than Gasol is doing for L.A. KG is getting a rebound or two more, but again, the refs have called three fouls on Gasol in the first two games that were clean blocks, all were supported by replay.
In game two, Odom went 5-11 from the field, Ray Allen, Mr. resurgence, went 6-11.
The Lakers went 10-21 from behind the arc, the Celtics...9-14.
The Celtics shot 52% from the field on Sunday the Lakers 49%.
Boston had 37 rebounds to L.A.'s 36
The only place in the box score that was glaringly lopsided was in fact the only aspect of the game controlled by the referees, free throw attempts, where as everybody knows the Lakers shot a paltry 10 free throws against the Celtic's 38. If the Celtics were playing that much harder than L.A. it would've shown up in more places in the box score.
I said months ago that when the other shoe dropped from the Tim Donaghy case, the league was going to be exposed for some serious issues. Scoop Jackson brought up some of those issues in one of his columns during Donaghy's trial. Now, the first revelation by Donaghy's attorney's that a referee crew had been used by "league executives" to ensure that a 2002 playoff series was extended to seven games.
According to Donaghy: "Personal fouls...were ignored
even when they occurred in full view of the referees," the document
says of the unnamed series. "Conversely, the referees called made-up
fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities to
Team 6."
Sounds eerily familiar to Sunday's game. What was astonishing to me was that the calls were obviously worse in the quarters that I didn't watch. Like I told my cousin after watching the two fouls on Kobe, "If the refs are going to make those kinds of calls in the NBA Finals, then it's obvious that they have decided to interject themselves into the outcome".
For those of you who want to discount Donaghy's testimony, I refer you
to Jose Canseco who was also treated like a pariah in the media until
he was found to be correct.
Maybe the league just wants a seven game series. Maybe Kobe and Co. will pull a Miami Heat act and win this thing after all. Either way I don't care.
Tonight, after the Lakers win and shoot 50 free throws to Boston's 5, everyone will be talking about how everything balances out.
Of course they do, just like WWF and I don't watch that either.
About two months ago on my FOX Sports blog, I suggested that the
Miami should entertain a trade scenario with the Bulls that would send
Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion to Chicago. Of course I was ripped to
shreds by many readers for even insinuating such blashphemy.
Now, several news outlets have reported that the Bulls are not only
open to trading their #1 draft pick to the Heat for Wade, but they have
already made the proposal public knowledge (unofficially of course).
Wade's response to the rumors: "This is a business, any thing can happen and we as players have no control over that type of thing".
Hmmmm.
Couple that with the fact that the Heat superstar has already given his stamp of approval for new Bulls skipper Doug Colins and I say the writing is already on the wall.
While many casual NBA fans can't seem to fathom the Heat trading the
guard, who many thought would be the cornerstone of Miami's franchise
for years to come, not only does it make sense to me, but any such
trade could, and should, be beneficial for both teams in their efforts
to reclaim repsectability and move back into the realm of playoff
contenders.
The trade scenario I proposed was as follows:
Chicago gets: Wade, Marion and the Heat's #2 pick.
The Bulls are faced with the fact that both Gordon and Deng decided
not to sign contract extensions last season and the team eventually
tuned out former coach Scott Skiles.
When Wade and LeBron James signed their extensions two seasons ago,
both made it a point to not include the extra year that fellow 2003
draftee Carmelo Anthony signed to explicitly to be in a position to
test the free agent market in five years instead of six.
I think most people in the know are already resigned to the fact
that in two seasons King James will be joining his pal Jay Z in the new
Brooklyn arena (sporting the new Rocawear uniforms no less). So where
would Wade be trying to get to? Why home to Chicago of course.
Why should the Heat wait two uneventful seasons to begin shopping Wade and lose leverage in any trade discussions?
Wade is scheduled to be playing for his third coach in four seasons
with the Heat, who mortgaged their immediate future with the Shaquille
O'Neal trade, and now that Shaq has bailed out on them, there are no
titles in sight. Especially with Boston vaulting to the top of the
pecking order in the Eastern Conference.
Much like the Pau Gasol trade spurred a flurry of hasty trade moves
by other Western Conference teams to keep pace with the Lakers, teams
in the East must now figure out a way to join the Celtics and Pistons
in the hunt for a trip the NBA Finals.
Even if the Heat stayed pat, drafted Beasley and re-signed Marion,
the rest of their roster doesn't have enough parts to challenge the top
dogs in their conference.
if Chicago were to sign Gordon and Deng with the intent of trading
them to Miami, both teams would then have enough pieces to crack the
upper tier of the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs are a flawed team, the Wizards are about to spiral out of
control, especially if Arenas bolts this summer and Orlando still
hasn't shown the kind of moxie to actually challenge for the Eastern
Conference crown.
The trade I proposed would give the Bulls a starting lineup of:
Hinrich - Wade - Bealey - Marion - Thomas and a bench of Noah, Nocioni and Hughes.
The Heat could start:
Rose - Gordon - Deng - Haslem - Blount and a bench of Davis, Duhon, Gooden, Cook and possible Mourning.
Each team would field much better teams than they would if they stayed pat.
Many times as fans, we fail to see our teams with the big picture in
mind, choosing rather to hold on to our favorites in the hopes of some
miraculous resurrection by a star player, like Minnesota holding on to
Garnett for two season's too long, when THEY could've gotten Gordon,
Deng and Tyrus Thomas for KG.
Or when the Bulls could've gotten Pau Gasol for Gordon and Deng at the start of last season.
Maybe the Bulls have learned from the mistake of being trigger shy
and as we've already seen, Pat Riley understands the business of the
league as well as anyone.
Neither team should force their new coaches to come in and not only
have to coach disgruntled players, but figure out how to keep peace in
the locker rooms. Give the new coaches a fresh start and if this trade
goes down any shape form or fashion, new hope as well.
Wade to bulls?
It
is said that Chicago is shopping their no. 1 pick and Dwayne Wade is
one of their top list. Wade likes Chicago cause he grew in Chicago and
Miami wants the no. 1 so bad. Will it be Wade for Rose? Wade gives Bulls stamp of approval for Collins
June 3, 2008
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Recommend (6)
By JOHN JACKSON Sun-Times News Group
Reaction has been mixed to the reports of the Bulls bringing back Doug
Collins for a second stint as coach, but count Dwyane Wade solidly in
the positive camp.
''I love Doug as a human being, first of
all,'' the Miami Heat guard said Monday. ''He seems like he's so happy
and content in life and unstressed. If he goes to the Bulls, I'm sure
the city of Chicago will be happy with that hire.''
The Bulls are
expected to announce the hiring today or Wednesday. Then the issue will
become whether Collins, 56, can remain ''unstressed'' in the job --
something he wasn't able to do two decades ago as the Bulls' coach.
''If
I was a coach, I'd go crazy, too; I know we drive these coaches
crazy,'' Wade said. ''I'm sure he's learned from his mistakes, from his
past. But at the same time, you don't want to take his passion away. He
just has to have a balance, and I'm sure he knows that. I'm sure if he
comes back to coaching, he's ready to take on that challenge.''
Wade's
focus has been on the Bulls a lot lately because the decision they make
with the No. 1 draft pick -- Memphis point guard Derrick Rose or Kansas
State forward Michael Beasley -- will determine whom the Heat gets at
No. 2.
''It's a win-win situation for the Bulls and the Heat,'' Wade said. ''Whoever they take, we can take the other one.''
When the trade talks start this early in the summer you know it's going down!
What is Kevin Garnett going to do to the Lakers...
That Tim Duncan hasn't already done?
What is Rajan Rondo going to do to Derek Fisher...
That Tony Parker hasn't already done?
What is Ray Allen going to do against Kobe...
That Bruce Bowen hasn't already done?
What is James Posey going to do...
That Brent Barry hasn't already done?
What are Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe going to do...
That Kurt Thomas and Oberto haven't done?
I just don't see how the Celtics present any more problem to the Lakers than the Spurs did, and we see what happened to them.
If Boston loses game one they'll get swept. Regardless, once this series goes to L.A., it's not coming back.
1st Round: The Lakers swept the 50 win Nuggets - Boston struggled against the 37 win Hawks.
2nd Round: The Lakers closed out the team with the best home record in the NBA...on the road. The Celtics went seven games against a team with a one dimensional superstar who can't shoot jumpers and has no teammates to speak of. 3rd Round: The Lakers sent the defending champs, with the greatest PF of all-time, packing in five games, a team with four titles in the last 10 years. THEIR big three has three championships together. The Celtics beat a team that had been to six straight conference finals with only one ring to show for it. The only players on the Celtics roster with titles are two bench players.
As much as I would enjoy a nice series, I just don't see what the Celtics can do that Utah and San Antonio couldn't do and together both of those franchises couldn't come up with four wins against L.A.
Here is the story of kid who tried to play the NCAA's rules and look where it got him. If this kid could've been drafted and then played in the NBA's developmental league then he would have a leg up on playing in the "A" division now and would not have wasted the time of the NCAA, the coaches and the Juco who have all managed to get a piece of this kid before he has even got a shot at the big boys.
I so despise the hypocrisy of the NCAA, the politics that it plays with it's new cohort the NBA and the legions of people who want to fault the kids who get caught up in this web of garbage.
The kid should've just taken the money to play at Memphis or Maryland and while people would've talked junk about him, at least he would've gotten 'paid' instead of 'played'.
Most people do not realize that in the midst of all the controversy surrounding their former Franchise Center's departure from Los Angeles, the Lakers did in fact make a contract offer to said player. The Center promptly turned down the offer. The Lakers made their offer in February, in June the Lakers lost the Finals to the Detroit Pistons. The Center's reasoning for turning down the Lakers' offer was because he felt as though his services were no longer needed. Keep in mind this was four months before he, the team's other franchise player, a Guard, and a lethargic Lakers team dragging Karl Malone and Gary Payton along as extra baggage were promptly thumped by the Pistons 4-1 in the championship round.
By the time the Finals had come around,the Franchise Guard, as well as the Lakers' Hall-of-FameCoach, were indeed fed up with The Center's work ethic, or lack thereof, as well as Payton and Malone's pouting because The Coach's championship winning triangle offense didn't suit their huge egos.
So what happened in the off season, all three of the primary components of the Lakers title teams either left or tried to leave. The Lakers no longer willing to endure The Center's public quips about being disrespected promptly shipped him to Miami in a trade for Lamar Odom, Brian Grant , Caron Butler and a first round draft choice. The Guard shopped his services around the league, and the Hall-of-Fame Coach headed to Montana to write a book about his dysfunctional former team.
It wasn't the first time The Coach had abruptly departed the locker room of a storied franchise. Remember that same Coach had left the Bulls, after six titles, under similar tensions between himself, management and a key player (Scottie Pippen).
It certainly wasn't the first time that The Center had bailed out on a team and teammates which he played in the Finals with, choosing to abandon the Orlando Magic to head to Hollywood after being abused in the Finals by Hakeem Olajuwon.
Yet the individual who received the lion's share in the blame for the drama unfolding in Hollywood was none other than The "I should be the leader of this team" Guard.
The Lakers, to their credit, did in fact recognize that The Guard was the supreme talent in the league and ponied up enough money to keep him from playing in the same gym for a different team. How good is The Guard? In Colorado, the state where he was facing rape allegation charges, the home team offered him a $130 million dollar contract, while he was in court!
The Lakers increased their basketball I.Q. by bringing back The Coach after realizing that if you have the best player in the league on your team, you might want to hire the best coach as well. So, after it was all said and done, the Lakers organization put the future of the franchise before any one player, any one coach and most importantly before any member of management's ego.
Fast forward to the summer of '07 and the Lakers' front office is being tested again. The Guard is griping about the fact that he cannot win a championship with guys like Smush Parker and Kwame Brown as starters on his team and that the Lakers either needed to significantly upgrade the talent of the team or trade him.
The Coach, pretty much takes The Guard's side in this affair, because he too knows that there is no title to be had with the Lakers' current roster. Over the summer, the Lakers refuse to trade The Guard and resign his former teammate from his championship years, Derek Fisher.
As the season begins, The Guard takes The Coach's advice and despite having not been traded finds solace in the fact that at least Smush Parker will not be his starting point guard, and starts the season with a renewed vigor, as much as a display for teams that may be interested in his services as a reminder to Lakers fans of the caliber of player management could be letting go.
The Guard's teammates, who he threw under the bus in the off-season, decide to be the anti-Smushes, and step up their games to compliment The Guard or at least prove him wrong.
The Lakers immediately rise to the top of the Western Conference, again, as the roster feels the pressure of being under the microscope every game as sportswriters and pundits worldwide scrutinize teammates of The Guard to see if his claims had any merit. Then, after their starting center (you know, the one they got with the draft pick they received in the trade for their Old Center) went down with an injury, Lakers management pulled a coup and traded Kwame Brown (who they got in a trade for Caron Butler, who was only a Laker because of the trade for their Old Center) to Memphis for All-Star forward Pau Gasol and instantly the Lakers were favorite's to win their 15th NBA Championship. Oh yeah, The Guard was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
The Guard - The MVP
The Lakers dominated what was considered one of the greatest and ultra competitive conferences in league history during the post season and now find themselves back in the NBA Finals for the 30th time, almost half of the total of NBA Finals ever, without their starting center.
The Lakers - 30th trip to the NBA Finals
So as we watch historical clips of the Lakers and their Finals opponents the Celtics being run up, down and sideways for the next week leading up to the start of game on on Thursday, pay attention to the faces that flash across the screen. Bird, Magic, McHale, Parrish, Kareem, Worthy, Cooper, Dennis Johnson, K.C. Jones, Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Jerry West, The Coach and from henceforth...The Guard.
History in the making, which of course the Lakers knew all along, they always have.
There are several bloggers who I regularly have give-and-take with here on FOX Sports. I think for the most part we write for each other's company since nobody at FOX seems to be paying any attention to us and I have'nt seen any inkling of another contest coming up anytime soon.
Nevertheless, we write and we write and we write, and we argue some, then we shout at each other, call each other morons and the cycle continues. Regardless, it gives those of us who actually enjoy writing and working on our craft an audience no matter how small and irrelevant.
I personally, love the blogging community. I think it's information exchange at it's finest and in several years as major news network anchors become more and more obsolete, people will simply choose which blogger they believe more and that is where they'll get their information from.
I have about 15 blogs and several podcast across the net under different names and subject matter. I'm like the blogging version of Prince (or rather the artist formerly known as Prince).
Lately, however, I see an increase in the number of people who have music on their blogs, a concept which I do not understand at all.
My personal favorite musicians or groups, in no particular order are, Kurt Cobain, The Aforementioned Artist who goes by different names, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jodeci, KRS ONE and yes the Allman Brothers. In fact, "Midnight Rider" barely lost out to Redman's "I'll Be Dat" as my personal theme song (see 'I'm Gonna Get You Sucka'). And yes all of those artists are in the MP3's of the Caddy and the Range right now.
Many of you probably do not like all if not any of those artists for all I know. So I will not burden you with having to endure my personal favorites when I'm priveledged (sic) enough to have you stop by my blog to pay attention to what I'm thinking at any given moment.
We meet up here for sports talk, this isn't MySpace!
So what gives with all of the musical pages. There are several things to consider when you decide to blast us with your musical faves on your sports blog:
#1. What if your reader happens to be at work or at home late at night while his/her family is sleeping and all of the sudden we click to your page and ...Mama don't let your babies grow up to be Cowboys!!!! What if your boss, who is in the office next door, actually likes Cowboys? What if my wife doesn't like country music disturbing her sleep? What if that's the song me and my ex broke up to?
Can you see the hysteria you may be causing?
#2. What if I pull into my driveway and my wife and daughter are on the front porch with a little bird they found in the front yard, and I spend the next hour online trying to figure out exactly what kind of bird it is and playing various bird sounds to see if I can get a reaction out of the bird when I shift gears, go to FOX Sports, click your blog and I get...Music makes you lose control!!!!
I guess I might be too old school for many of today's younger bloggers, judging by my musical tastes, that's probably a safe assumption, still, if you want me to hear your tracks, just give me a hyperlink to your MySpace or Facebook page and I will happily check them out.
As for the sports blogs, unless it's a vintage Cossell - Ali verbal sparring session, a classic Harry Carey or Billy Crystal 'take me out to the ballgame' rendition, or a hilarious Mike Tyson ear or children eating montage don't you think that we could find our own way to hot tunes?
Of course we wanted to get either the #1 or #2 overall. But since we didn't, we don't have to make the mistake of drafting Jerryd Bayless, another shoot first PG (like we need anymore of them on our roster) or O.J. Mayo, who I think is the new Mike Dunleavey (decent but not good as you thought he would be and definately not worth a top five pick ).
Now the Knicks can keep their fingers crossed that three other teams will fall asleep at the wheel and not draft Danilo Gallinari who aside from being the third most NBA ready player in the draft, fits right into D'Antoni's coaching style.
Brook Lopez is going to be a solid NBA player but will not have the impact worthy of a top three pick (see Andrew Bogut, Marvin Williams).
Eric Gordon...I don't think so.
Russell Westbrook...h**l no!
Kevin Love - yeah but not if Gallinari is still on the board.
Donte Greene is this year's sleeper in the lottery. I watched this kid quite a bit playing at Syracuse and if he gets coached right he will be a stud. Allowing him to only have to move right down the road from the Carrier Dome to MSG will help his cause as well.
But if the Italian Stallion is available we should get him before we over-think the pick
In about two seasons D Wade is going to pull a Kobe and start demanding to be traded. Where would he like to go? Home to Chicago of course. Which is why I suggested earlier that the Heat should not wait until that inevitable fiasco befalls them and make the trade to the Bulls of:
Wade - Marion to Chicago for
Gordon, Duhon, Thebolosha, Deng and Gooden.
Now that the Bulls have the #1 overall, if they made that trade and drafted Rose they would then have a starting five of:
Rose - Wade - Marion - Noah - Thomas [ Bench - Nocioni - Hinrich - Hughes]
Miami could then Draft Beasley and start:
Gordon - Davis - Deng - Beasley - Blount [ Bench - Jason Williams, Udonis Haslem - Cook, Wright].
If Miami doesn't leverage their current position and draft status, they will pay the price when Wade decides to go and they lose trade leverage.
If the Bulls do not make any trades, then they should draft Beasley and resign Gordon and Deng.
Hinrich - Gordon - Deng - Beasley - Thomas [Bench - Thebolosha - Nocioni - Noah - Duhon]
The Bulls lost most of their leverage to trade Deng and Gordon when they didn't pull the trigger on a trade for either Kobe, Garnett or Gasol. Why should they draft Rose when they have Hinrich, Gordon and Duhon on the team and no other NBA teams will give them a trade worth value because they know that Godon and Deng have already turned down contract extensions? Seems like a no brainer to me. Then again like Bill Simmons says...it's the No Balls Association.
Oh yeah, Danilo Gallinai Hands down the third best player in the draft. Because nobody else seems to think so, the Knicks and D'Antoni might get lucky and he'll still be available at #6.
The big question is will teams draft for need or popularity?
Well, Cleveland put up a good fight but they fell short. So my Eastern Conference Finals prediction of Cavs v.s Magic are in the toilet.
I am now faced with the dilema of rooting for the Hornets' big three (who are on my fantasy team) against the Spurs, who I predicted to make the Western Conference Finals.
So maybe I'll switch to baseball prognosticating.
Okay here it goes.
The Milwaukee Brewers will NOT win the World Series.
Could the man in the above photo actually become the Governor of Alabama one day?
In today's world, anything is possible, but I'd have to say it's not
likely. Just as it's not likely that Barkley will ever be an NBA GM one
day, even though he stated matter of factly that he "is going to be an
NBA GM" on ESPN's Pardon theInterruption last week.
To many people in the sporting community, Barkley is like a big,
lovable, talking teddy bear, who fans and players alike revered for his
candidness and on air personality as a broadcaster.
Truth be told, Barkley is a teddy bear that has spit on a little
girl at a basketball game (albeit he wasn't aiming at her), broke a
man's nose in one fist fight after an away game and threw another man
through a plate glass window on another occasion, (Sounds a little more
like Chewbacca than the Snuggles Bear to me).
For years Barkley has gotten free pass to speak freely on many
sensitive topics of a social and racial nature that many other black
sports personalities get blasted for in the media. Jason Whitlock of
FOX Sports and Detroit Piston Rasheed Wallace are examples of black
sports personalities that have felt the backlash of being openly vocal
about racial issues, a dynamic that apparently has no affect on
Barkley's relationship with fans or his bosses.
Sir Charles has called Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson race baiters,
said that athletes should not be role models for children and also told
USA Today that the reason that black people cannot be
successful is because of other black people. While there are many who
would agree with his assertions, it is still a wonder that in today's
'politically correct' media, the future Hall-of-Fame player remains
unchecked.
Now, Barkley's gambling addiction has been thrust front and center
for the world to see and the picture that has been painted is not a
pretty one.
According to Bloomberg News reports, Wynn Resorts Ltd., which owns a
casino in Las Vegas is suing the 'Round Mound of Rebound' for $400,000.
Money which the casino reports to have loaned Barkley last October.
When asked why he hadn't paid back the money, Barkley said simply,
"I let the time lapse...I forgot." Like the comedian Chris Rock once
said. "You don't ever forget where you got some free money."
I do not dislike Charles Barkley, but I don't have any special
affinity for him as a commentator nor as a representative of the black
perspective in sports. Part of the reason that it seems to get away
with being on the controversial side of many topics is because he has
always been quick to dismiss the pulse of much of black America,
choosing a position that often comes off as elitist.
Even in in his response to the gambling debt he is facing in Nevada
now, "I'm not broke..." Barkley added. The problem is many Americans
are broke, or close to it anyway. In Alabama, where Barkley wants to be
Governor someday, over a million people are living below the poverty
level and over 65% of those people are black citizens.
Barkley is taking some heat for his recent gambling revelations, but
he continues to push forward as if he's wearing a teflon suit. While
the majority of blacks in Alabama are living paycheck to paycheck, he
acknowledges that he has lost over $10 million in his lifetime, once
over $1 million in a single day.
Yet Barkley continues to brush any character defects off of his
shoulders with callous disregard to both the example he might be
setting for the next generation of aspiring sports stars concerning
fiscal responsibility as well as the judgement capabilities, or lack
therof that you think he would need to exhibit for any constituency he
may plan on pandering for votes in the future.
One of Barkley's most memorable assertions in his career was that
athletes should not be role models. If we are to take Barkley's actions
into as much consideration as his words, then he is dead on in that
assessment.
If his track record is anything to gauge his performance by, they shouldn't be Governors either.
