Here's the latest of my transcribed BB posts for your reading pleasure. I know it's a half-assed way to run a blog, but it kills 2 birds with one stone and hey, it's better than the big fat nothing I'd be posting here otherwise.
The context here is a discussion of Dallas trading for Jason Kidd by parting with Devin Harris and other spare parts (sorry Stackhouse, that's what they call you these days).
"Is it still cool to bring this up? What with the grand larceny the Lakers pulled, all Kidd talk has been pushed to a background, but I wanted to bring it back. Like Magic and Chuck on TNT, I got something to say. Warning: major rant ahead, mixed with a really long post. [I cannot wait to see what the censor does with this post!]
Jason Kidd, what a complex case. On one hand, you have, for most of his career, the quintessential unselfish point guard. By my count, the second best point in the modern era, behind only Magic, ahead of Isaiah and Stockton. Great combination of size at 6'5'' and blazing speed, especially with the basketball. Not a great shooter, but great killer instinct and a knack for hitting the big shots.
Kidd doesn't get nearly enough credit for his early work in Jersey, where his turnaround of that team was and always will be more impressive than what Nash did in Phoenix (don't even get me started on this, I could write a book). People forget that he took a truly second rate supporting cast to the finals back to back. Even in a watered down east, that's an amazing feat for a non-center.
While Kidd's slipped some since those days, especially on the defensive end, he's still got enough in the tank to average a triple double in last year's playoffs through two rounds. No other player I've seen has come close to doing such a thing. To put it bluntly, I've been a huge fan of dude's game for years.
On the other hand, you have the BS that's been going on this season. Despite what some would have you believe, NJ has the talent this season to be a 50-win team. Even without Krstic, in the sorry eastern conference it was possible with a healthy RJ, Vince, and the young talent on board. Instead, the Nets are horrible, and it is BECAUSE of Jason Kidd. From watching the Nets a handful of times recently, I've come to the conclusion that Kidd has just given up. On his teammates, on this season. In the past, he's dictated the pace o####ame, and made all of the plays for the team at crunch time. This year he's been invisible down the stretch of games, and his team looks headless, leading to a ton of losses in close games. He simply doesn't give a ####, and it's shocking. His apathetic and passionless play is very disturbing to see, especially from a player going to the hall of fame because of his leadership and being the ultimate team player.
...[Y]ou really have to watch the Nets to understand how off Kidd's play is. It really speaks poorly of his character, and I'm supremely disappointed in the guy. Stars tanking on bad teams is not a new concept. Kidd's own teammate admits to doing it in Toronto. KG was doing it the past few seasons in Minny. But the difference is that Vince Carter's Raps and KG's Wolves were truly hopeless situations. If those guys played there #### off, their teams might have made the playoffs. In Jersey, if Kidd plays his #### off, the Nets are looking at maybe a 5 seed, with an outside shot at getting home court advantage in the first round. With a healthy Krstic, they could be in position to make a run deep into the playoffs. The Nets aren't as good as Detroit or Boston, but talentwise they could hang with every other team. And who knows, with a move or two maybe they coulda challenged the East's elite. [hmm, a certain 7-footer who was on the trading block would have looked nice on their front line...]
What's more, I'm amazed that that media has not really picked up on this tank job. Nets fans should boo Kidd's #### every home game for his half-hearted play and if Thorn is going to cave to his trade request, they should suspend him just like the Sixers did Iverson. F#%@% trade value, his apathy is completely destroying the Nets season and the team would be better off figuring things out without him instead of relying upon their former leader and watching him lifelessly throw the season away.
Speaking of AI, there's an example o####uy in a truly hopeless situation (no RJ, VC or vets at all around him in Philly) who kept busting his butt and handled the situation much better. Why? AI has the class to realize that if you're going to suit up, you should feel some obligation to your teammates, your fans, and yourself to play the game like you care instead of going through the motions. That Kidd's individual stats are so good speaks more of his natural ability than anything else. I have no idea how he's averaging 10 assists a game the way he's playing. Overall, what Kidd's doing is disgusting and a disgrace. I no longer know what to think about the guy.
Despite all of this, I believe that Kidd's play would pick up dramatically if he got his wish and were traded to Dallas. Based on this past summer, he's got plenty in the tank when his head is screwed on straight, and the bottom line is that he's still a hall-of-fame caliber point guard. You may be mortgaging the future by trading away Harris, but Harris probably won't ever reach that level, and getting Kidd would give the Mavs a better chance of getting a ring overall.
A better chance of winning 1+ rings in the next few years > being in the hunt, but not good enough to win a ring for 5-6 years. If you're in it to win rings, you make the Harris-Kidd swap, unless you strongly believe the team will be good enough to win a ring with Harris. Don't get me wrong, Dallas COULD win the chip with Harris. But I wouldn't bet on it this year - I have at least Phoenix ahead of them. San Antonio and the Lakers ain't far behind either. And does Harris make the Mavs future brighter than, say, the Lakers with Bynum, especially now with Gasol in tow?"
So to recap, for those not into words: Jason Kidd is playing really badly, but Dallas should still trade for him. Any questions kids?
Ahh, the world of blogs. Nothing like spouting off at your own whim, putting down some noise that nobody reads. Or that everybody reads, but pretends that they don't read. Never thought I'd be doing this, but apparently you can get paid for doing this. So heeere we go...
NBA Playoffs. No other sporting event all year does it for me like this month and a half of the finest basketball on the planet. The air smells cleaner, the water tastes better, and the daily grind is pushed aside when there are 8 hours straight of basketball to be watched.
Last night's games, to put it lightly, sucked. I recorded the Mavs-Grizz game, will watch some of it today, but that final score tells the whole story. The Grizz are my frontrunner for most disappointing team in the playoffs. They got bullied the whole series by the Mavs, who are hardly the bad boys of the league. They were outworked on the glass by a big margin, and made Erick Dampier look like Deke Mutombo on the glass.
But nothing symbolized the tone of the series as much as when Dirk Nowitzki (aka Dirt McGirt, I can't wait till dude gets old and I can call him the ODB, may he rest in peace) clocked Pau Gasol hard several times in game 3, even getting called for a flagrant, and never saw any retaliation by any of Pau's teammates. I guess we shouldn't be surprised by this, coming from the team that allowed Kobe to give Mike Miller a tracheotomy earlier this year with no getback, but this is ridiculous. DIrk is a notorious softie, and when he's playing the tough guy against your team, you've got problems. Jerry West has definitely got a lot of work on his hands trying to inject some testosterone into this roster. I say keep Pau, who kept taking it strong in the lane, and Shane Battier (who's tough but no enforcer) and junk the rest of the team in a rebuilding.
