Somewhere right now Steve Kerr is saying, “These are the best playoffs I’ve ever seen.” He may even be sleeping, but he’ll still say it once or twice. Even without Kerr’s frothings some of us have thought the same thing throughout this year’s NBA playoffs.
    The NBA has already completed five memorable and competitive series if you count Nets-Pacers. Of course it was impossible to see Nets-Pacers because it was mostly on NBA-TV which is only available in Guam. The NFL Network is on my digital cable setup (they’re currently showing the Hamburg Sea Devils at the Amsterdam Admirals) along with 500 other channels including the Bloomberg Channel (log any time with that one?) Somehow NBA TV was not able to squeeze in. So lets make that four memorable series, and countless memorable moments.

    Is Brent Barry’s 3-pointer still bouncing on the rim? Did LeBron really cop a feel of Arenas, or was he just trying to rip out his heart (again)? Nobody’s surprised to see Kobe hit the clutch shot but how about Tim “Left by the Curb” Thomas?
    That was just the first round. Now we have three game 7s within the space of 36 hours. This feast is a basketball binge that rivals the first two days of the NCAA tournament. Except the players, coaches, teams and even the fans are even better. After MJ retired for the 3rd or 4th time, pundits were crying about the lack of star power in the NBA.
    How many potential MVP’s are playing in the next two days? Eight--James, Billups, Nash, Brand, Duncan, Parker, Marion and Nowitski. Then there are two of the best defensive players of all time (Ben Wallace and Bruce Bowen) two guys who stepped up and threw down (Michael Finley and Raja Bell) and one guard who looks decidedly like a hammerhead shark (don’t make me say it).

 

    So who do you think is going to make the moment? LeBron again? Dirk? Steve Nash? Maybe, but it could be all of the above and more. I hope it’s a crazy and controversial sprint to the tape. Because there are two more rounds to go to build the case that Steve Kerr has not lost his mind. Three more 7s to add to the legend of Playoffs ’06--let it roll.

Good luck to everybody in the NGS 2 selection tomorrow!

With all the fuss about LeBron “King” James these days it’s easy to forget about the only team that’s already in the conference finals—the Miami Heat. You may think of Shaq O’Neal first when you think of the Heat. But Shaquille is fading more into the role of icon than the role of center. His minutes are limited; he’s pulling a steady 31 minutes a game. Shaq’s points are pedestrian, just topping 18. His rebounding is slowing as the years and the playoff wear him down; he averaged just over 7 for the Nets series. Pundits talk about Shaq’s “presence,” but the Heat’s payroll department must be contemplating his absence.

Once again we’re ignoring the player who has stepped up more than any other in this playoffs. (That’s right, including LeBron who’s 8 turnovers and 2 missed free throws at the end of game 4 were not exactly clutch.) That player is Dwyane “Flash” Wade, Miami’s quiet superstar.

Nike hasn’t dropped $90 million on Dwyane and that means that the international hype machine that brought you the messianic “Witness” ads isn’t behind the Miami guard. Wade’s Converse deal isn’t going to get him 10-story Big Brother-like Witness posters that block out light in every apartment in Cleveland. Nor will it buy an Industrial Light and Magic ad that features several unfunny Wade clones. Rather, Flash has had to make his own noise on the basketball court--and it’s been a thunderstorm.

This year Wade has been unstoppable in the playoffs. His unprecedented quickness to the rim and highlight reel finishes have been his bread and butter for years. These playoffs he’s began to do what critics (such as myself) have cited as a hole in his game. Wade shot the three at a paltry 17% clip during the season. It’s not that DWade is not dropping the bomb so much these playoffs, he’s just hitting it more. Somehow he’#### 50% from three, which is enough of a taste for perimeter defenders to have to stick a bit closer. All the better to be victimized by Dwyane’s clever crossover or his straight ahead blinding speed.

Wade has also continued his playmaking from the regular season. Most people don’t even realize what a talented assist man that Dwyane is. With all of the mega-hype that LeBron gets about his passing, Wade averaged more assists this season. Flash’s highlight-reel pass in the lane was fodder for SportsCenter. But Wade obsessively breaks down defenses with his patented speed and guile, subverting the collapsing lane with a deft dime.

I think what has most sold me on Wade’s game is his over-arching athleticism. When I see #3 knifing to the peach basket I remember Michael Jordan—with hair. There is artistry to dunking, but it’s also a tool for psychological warfare. Wade’s throw-downs are beautiful and vicious. When Dwyane Wade drops from the rim, AmericanAirlines Arena explodes…or an opponent’s arena deflates. The relentlessness of his game takes mental toughness, something the New Jersey Nets had too little of. Wade didn’t end the Nets with a dunk however; he did it with a patented steal (he’s thieving more than 2 a game in the playoffs.)

What’s also forgotten is that Dwyane Wade has accomplished more than the highly touted “King” James. He won a playoff series his first year in the league as LeBron went home. He’s headed to his second conference finals, and LeBron still may not experience his first. Wade is the heart and soul of the Heat in the same way that LeBron carries the Cavs. It’s funny that such a special player is sneaking up on the playoffs, but somehow Wade is doing just that. Would a James/Wade Eastern Conference Finals duel be unbelievable theatre? No doubt. But for now we only know for sure that one of those players will be there; it’s time to get to know him.

Kevin Garnett has been the subject of trade rumors for years. Recently, Garnett trade talk has reached unprecedented levels. It seems like every amateur GM has a “package” of scrubby players they believe somehow is “value” for KG. Most of these offers range from the ridiculous to the preposterous. But is there a team out there that can really land the T-wolves star? Let’s take a look:

Chicago Bulls

Package: Gordon, Chandler and the No. 1 draft choice (Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times)

Chance of happening: 10%. Gordon and Chandler aren’t much, but that pick is going to be very high. If it turns into a #1, then you can make that trade if you’re the T-wolves. Anything less than that and it’s not going to be a good trade. There are no LeBrons in this draft as far as we know. If I’m the Bulls, maybe I don’t make this trade either. If they make this trade Chicago isn’t going to be a championship team even with Garnett.

Package that would get KG: Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Knicks 1^st Round pick 2006 & 2007

Los Angeles Lakers

Package: Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm and a couple draft picks. (Dime Magazine)

Chance of happening: 8%. Odom’s stock went up with his good playoff series. But when you look at the deal, if you’re the T-wolves you don’t make the trade. It’s essentially an Odom for Garnett trade straight up. Trying to sell that to Minnesota season ticket holders would not be pretty.

Package that would get KG: Kobe Bryant

New York Knicks

Package: Steve Francis, Jalen Rose or Stephon Marbury; Assorted Scrubs (Daily News)

Chance of happening: 0%. Even the Daily News that wrote of the Knicks’ interest in KG thinks this is impossible. Isiah Thomas thinks he could get Garnett, but his delusion is well-publicized. No one wants the overpaid underachievers from the Knicks on their team. If you turn back the clock 3 or 4 years you could have packaged two of these formerly-respected players for Garnett, but now after last season’s meltdown, this is laughable. Plus, their pick is gone to the Bulls this year, and next year they’ll have to trade picks with the Bulls. Ouch.

Package that would get KG: None

Washington Wizards

Package: Jared Jeffries, Etan Thomas and Billy Thomas (Caller to SportsTalk 980/Washington Times) 

Chance of happening: 0%. This is one of the nuts who calls after Wizards games and suggest a straight up deal of Calvin Booth for Dirk Nowitski. Unfortunately, some of the deals that pro journalists suggest are just as unlikely. Part of the reason Garnett is staying put is nobody is offering value. There has to be an all-star in any trade for Garnett. I guess if you’re a Wizards fan you think any trade can happen considering the Kwame for Caron deal. Can the Lakers trade Mitch Kupchak for a towel boy on the Sixers? 

Package that would get KG: Gilbert Arenas, Brendan Haywood, 1^st Round pick

Golden State Warriors

Package: Jason Richardson, Anybody else they want (Carl Steward, InsideBayArea.com)

Chance of Happening: 2%. Jason Richardson is a nice player, but he’s not quite an all-star. Although his points were up, he’s still on a losing squad.  JRich has to score a lot more, or win a lot more, or both to be tradable for a star of Garnett’s brilliance. Nobody else on the roster is worth thinking about, and please don’t mention Mike Dunleavy.

Package that would get KG: None.

Boston Celtics

Package: Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson, 1^st Round pick (CelticsBlog.net)

Chance of Happening: 15%. Leave it to the bloggers to have the juiciest rumors. Paul Pierce and friends for Garnett has been floating on the air since last summer. I feel like this is the most credible of all of the rumors because Pierce is a franchise player when he wants to be. You would be getting a tiny bit younger (Garnett is turning 30, Pierce is 28) but Garnett is still clearly the man. Al Jefferson might be interesting for his upside, but they might want Delonte West as well. This would be bizarre, of course, because every meaningful T-Wolf would now be a Celtic and vice versa.

Package that would get KG: Paul Pierce, Delonte West, 1^st Round pick

That leaves about a 65% chance that he’s going to stay with Minnesota, which sounds about right to me.

Those are the rumors that I’ve been hearing, feel free to share your own crazy trade rumors.

I was poking around the Eastern Conference Websites last night to see if I coulde get any insight into the teams’ philosophies. Three of the four remaining franchises had catch-phases that were telling. The fourth had no catch-phrase, which said volumes in and of itself.

The Cavs website displayed a pregame team photo with a mish-mosh of players facing in different directions. At the bottom of the photo it reads, “All for one, one for all.” This led me to wonder, “Who are the other two Musketeers?” Then I read the phrase again and it all made sense: “All for LeBron, LeBron for all.” The Orwellian undertones of LeBronist world domination was too creepy for me. I moved on to the New Jersey Nets.

At the top of the Nets’ website was a banner filled with buzzwords. Highlighted was the phrase “Attitude—Bring It!” This reminded me of Vince Carter’s approach to the NBA. A lot of “attitude” not much discipline. Luckily for the Nets, Jason Kidd probably isn’t too worried about attitude, he’s just going to bring it.

The Heat website didn’t have a catchphrase. Instead, they featured 5 different photos of the Heat dancers. The dance team apparently won NBA.com’s “Dance Bracket.” Basketball is relegated to a sidelight in Miami. It’s as though the Heat organization has already conceded the NBA championship in order to focus on its Dance Team Dynasty.

The Pistons’ web site was a different story. One word is plastered everywhere—Teamwork. Teamwork seemed like quaint anachronism before the Pistons resurrected the concept in the 2004 Championship season. This year they’ve been embodying teamwork yet again. When you look at their points per game, it’s as balanced as you’re going to find. Hamilton averages 20 points a game, Billups 18.5, Sheed 15, and Prince 14. Five more players average over 5 a game. They are also taking the no-frills job of playing great defense to heart. Ben Wallace’s leadership on D has garnered him a record-tying 4^th Defensive Player of the Year award. But he’s just the biggest and scariest part of the team defense concept. Big Ben in the middle allows Billups to be more aggressive with the ball handler, and improves the perimeter defense in general. If you have to funnel them into Ben’s territory, he’s got the athleticism to get there with the help. If you need him outside on LeBron, he can stay with him and force him in to jump shots. Then Rasheed can use his size (6’11”) to swat the shots on his own.

The Pistons have already captured one championship through their teamwork philosophy, and I find it to be the most attractive catch phrase in the Eastern Conference. I wonder what’s on the Spurs’ website?

    We’ve all been there—puzzling as to why our team has lost a key piece, or was unable to acquire the prize free agent from the small-market team. It seemed as if your general manager was a major player in the negotiations then for some reason your favorite player was gone. The GM always “did everything they could” and the team really wanted said free agent. Then the player says the team had no offer that was close and had no interest in matching. (Then the player says the new contract wasn’t about money…but that’s another post.) What gives?
    Oftentimes your team’s owner and GM have no intention of signing the player they are supposedly bidding for. Whether it’s a money issue, cap room or a desire to go with somebody else (usually less well-known, but sometimes equally productive) the team just isn’t interested. Due to the pressure from fans to see the team actively attempting to acquire free agents (in the hopes of winning, of course) or to drive up the price of a player for your rival teams, the team will pretend to be a player in the bidding for a free agent. Here’s several types of fake bidding that occur:


“We Really Tried"

    This is usually done by teams to alleviate pressure to acquire a popular free agent or keep a local hero. It requires another team to play the bully, so your GM can paint your team as a helpless victim.     A recent case was Antwaan Randle El. The Steelers quickly resigned themselves to losing Randle El. No game was necessary; their fans were satisfied that the Super Bowl Champs were going to operate successfully within a limited budget. But a lot of noise was being made by Chicagoans (Michael Wilbon for example) that the Bears ought to bolster their receiving corps by bringing a hometown boy back to the Windy City.


    The Bears’ actions were strictly David Blaine. An $18 million offer was floated on the breeze as Randle El made his way to Redskins Park. Randle El turned it down flat before even meeting with Cerato, Snyder and Gibbs. Everybody involved knew that the Skins were going to come to the table with significantly more, especially the Bears. They slid in a nice low-ball hoping the Redskins would knock it out of the park, and they did.
    The Bears knew well that the Redskins reputation for “overpaying” would cover their #### on the low-ball. Plus, they would get the benefit of saying “We tried to get Randle El.” Furthermore, the Bears “never had a chance” because of the “overpaying” of the Redskins. What would have happened had the Bears made a serious offer in the neighborhood of what Randle El finally received? Maybe he’d still be in Washington, but maybe he’d be in Chicago. The Bears never wanted him. Instead they got exactly what they wanted without spending a dime.


    Johnny Damon was a similar “We tried” only in slow motion. The market for Damon was softer than expected. Damon was looking for 5 or 6 years, and had no takers. The Sox had floated a low-ball 3-year offer and almost got what they didn’t want: Johnny Damon in the outfield. There were a bunch of teams with similarly bogus offers on the table like the Orioles (who are always “almost” getting free agents) but nobody to take the fall for the Sox when their World Series hero left town.
    Then the Evil Yankees Empire stepped in. The Yankees saved the day, offering the 4th year, “overpaying” an older player and playing the big, rich, bully for the Red Sox to blame--even though the Sox have the 2nd highest payroll in baseball. The Red Sox float the “We tried” balloon and Coco Crisp is playing at Fenway a little too quickly to have not been the plan all along.


    Why do these teams “overpay” these guys anyway? Randle El can be worth at least $31 million to the Redskins, while maybe not being worth as much to the Bears in their situation. Washington already makes tons of money, but now the Randle El jerseys are flying off the shelves and Snyder can jack up ticket prices, which is just what happened.
    Steinbrenner is making money 18 different ways off of the Yankees. Not only Damon jerseys and fannies in the seats, but television deals that would make the Devil Rays drool. The Yankee product gets a big boost in the middle of the off-season, and Big Stein gets richer. Being the villain isn’t a problem when you’re making money hand-over-fist (and Darth Vader is the coolest character in Star Wars  anyway.)


“Bid Them Up”

    Ebay is a dangerous thing. You’ve bid on something and someone with a evil-sounding screen name outbids you. You bid against each other a few times and now you’ve reached your limit. Then the devil on your shoulder whispers, “bid him up.” So you put in a few extra bids just to cost him a little Cabbage Patch Kid collection.
    Teams do this with free agents all the time. Every extra dollar tied up may cost your rival a player down the line. This is very popular in the American League East.
    Toronto had entered very credible negotiations with Marlins hurler AJ Burnett. As they neared the end of reeling in Burnett, there were still teams hanging on somewhere near the Toronto number. Baltimore and Boston stayed in the mix to drive the price up another $5 million at least. Toronto got their man, and Baltimore and Boston got to squeeze their division rival for the price of a quality utility man or middle reliever.

“The Phantom Offer”


    If you really want to play it safe, this is the way to go. Atlanta mastered this maneuver years ago. The Hawks always have acres of cap space and no intention of using it. Two years ago when Kenyon Martin was a free agent, the New York Times reported that the Hawks were expected to tender Martin a max deal offer. This would have been a bold addition for the hapless Hawks had it been a real offer.
    But it never materialized. This “Phantom Offer” had a little bit of the “we tried” (if you weren’t paying too close attention) and ultimately “bid up” the price to a max deal for Denver.  The beneficial effect of this non-bid is a bit less than tendering an actual offer. The financial risk, of course, is zero, so any benefits are free. We’ll see whether there’s a bid or a no-bid on Harrington this summer. I’m guessing non-bid.

    Owners and GM’s play a lot of games because, like it or not, sports is a big business. The same brinksmanship and deceit occurs in high-stakes business deals around the world. I think it is important to realize that just like when David Blaine supposedly holds his breath for nine minutes, nothing is what it appears to be.