For the past 48 hours, since word of the Kidd homecoming to Dallas broke and then the 24 hours after the fact when Devean George decided keeping his right to make money in the summer was more important than ‘going along’ to Jersey…we painted him as the bad guy. The selfish one who is putting his own needs before the team’s, preventing the team from getting better. I’ll get to that in a second, but as I sit here and just concluded reading something, there’s one person who will inevitably get the finger of blame if this falls through. Who you ask? Stackhouse. In what may go down as the biggest ‘foot in the mouth’ moment in Mavericks history, Stack’s revelation of the side deal which would end up in the Nets buying out Stack’s contract allowing Stack to return to Dallas in a month is raising the ire of MANY GMs around the league and now has NBA’s Big Brother looking into things. And if you’re a Mavericks fan, a true one, pray they nip this thing in the bud. You don’t want this trade going through for the following reasons…

A) You don’t want to part with Devin Harris. Yes, you’re getting the Prodigal Kidd back, but this is about 15 years or so after his initial stay there which didn’t end too well. Devin’s younger, better and will develop into a true force in this league given time. With Kidd, you’re getting someone who gives you toughness, but not much else. On offense, he’s a facilitator and not much more as his jump shot’s too erratic. Defensively…well, I hope you enjoy watching Parker and other PG brethren burn by ya, cause that’s going to happen A LOT with Kidd on them.

B) Cubes had it dead on when he said this would cost about half the team. Included in that is your other best interior threat, which you don’t want to lose now that Phoenix has Shaq and Bynum’s playing like he’s not only got a set, but skills to go along with it. One of the few things Dallas has going for it is the depth on their bench. That would be pretty much lost if this goes through as scripted.

C) Probably most important of all, this doesn’t get you any closer to the Lakers, Suns or Spurs out West. Hell, it barely gets you close enough to catch the front running Hornets. Last year, you were exposed as a team that couldn’t run with someone who was just as quick and infinitely tougher than you were. Think Kidd’s going to change that all on his own? No. Dirk’s still softer than Charmin and in case any of you didn’t realize it, the Nets had some pretty tough hombres on that roster that won two straight conference titles in 02 and 03. There are no K-Marts on this team.

But thanks to Stackhouse basically telling the world about how he’s going to resign with the Mavs after being bought out by the Nets (presuming they would do it in the first place), perhaps people can stop trying to take aim at Devean. Oh and as far as Devean goes, you can’t knock a man for looking out for his best interest when his team isn’t. It’s business, not personal. So even if this thing goes off without a hitch, if Devean changes his mind and the like, what then? If the Mavs don’t catch the Hornets, I see another one and done in their future. If things stopped now, the Mavs would be staring at Kobe Bauer and the Lake Show. Kobe’s focused like never before and I think even without Bynum in a 7 game set, the Lakers win it. With Kidd and minus the already mentioned pieces of the puzzle, it happens that much quicker I think.

The Mavs don’t figure to improve by much adding this trade and it definitely doesn’t help them get ahead of a pack that’s hyperactively competitive this year (probably more so than any other year out West). But that is of course, pending Stern’s ruling that this thing will in fact happen in light of Stack’s bold (and foolish) proclamation that he’s not going anywhere. Turns out he might be right after all.

02/15/08 | Posted by Len | Category NBA 11 comments | Permalink | No Trackbacks |

Alright, I've been as quiet as I'm going to be on this matter. This team's lost three straight times to the Knicks this season...THREE STRAIGHT!!! The Knicks could find a way to not lose to themselves three straight times damnit! The Overrated Three have not and more than likely will not produce what I'm hoping for, even with the East being as watered down as a thing of soda with the top being off of it for about a week. I don't have access to NY papers other than what I read online and after reading a column by Peter Vescey, I did some thinking and I fully agree with him. Now maybe they pull one of their traditional 'flip the switch in the middle of the year and streak into the playoffs' things, just before the inevitable flame-out when it counts.

Fact is, last year's loss to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers was the beginning of the end. If three straight losses to the Knicks within a half year (for crying out loud man, the damn season hasn't even hit the All-Star Break and the Knicks have taken the season series!!!) doesn't tell the tale, nothing will. Right now, the East figures to break down to the Celts and Pistons in a retro throwback to the 80s when these two going at each other was as regular as Flair and Rhodes going at each other for the NWA World Title. I came into this year with a ton of hopes for the Nets and sadly, I'm left eating a whole heapful of Humble Pie. I've already theorized that VC has to go, because simply put, he hasn't brought anything to the table since he arrived. Unfortunately, the sad yet painful truth is that thanks to ownership paying him way too much for doing oh so little, he's virtually unmovable. The only other movable pieces are virtually impossible to get rid of, because doing so hinders the progress that the youngsters can make from sitting under the learning tree. (And by this, I'm talking about J-Kidd who is NOT the problem.) I guess in a way, this is reminding me of how grateful I should've been when the Nets ran the East six years ago. Honestly, at this point, I'd trade VC straight up for a Kittles-ish type of 2 guard because at least I'd know then that they'd be competitive. The Nets right now are repugnant enough to make the T-Wolves look like they never lost KG (as evident by the fact that Al Jefferson got his rocks off and they beat the Nuts in Minny). I'm all but expecting the hatchet to come down on top of Frank's skull if this decline continues and right now, I'm not thinking of any reason why it won't. VC's playing like a glorified fat cat who's got his money and could care less about doing what's necessary to ensure the team wins. In a conference where there's a ton of room for folks to get into the playoffs (unlike the West where the margin of error is flosslike thin), the Nets are speedwalking in reverse on ice skates downhill.

02/12/08 | Posted by Len | Category NBA 8 comments | Permalink | No Trackbacks |

In a sports year where the seemingly impossible or improbable has happened, where trades we only deemed feasibly possible in video games have gone down in the blink of an eye, we’ve got one more and contrary to popular opinion of it…

I’m going to tell you why this is actually a great idea.

The trade, barring the Diesel passing the league’s version of E-Check is going to send Superman complete with his Kryptonian knees and the like to Phoenix for the Matrix and Marcus Banks. You’re bound to go anywhere and read how Phoenix is utterly stupid for doing this deal. But understand something that I’m sure most of them know as they are ardently against this, but won’t say until May when the Suns figure to be long gone. They were not going to win it all with this unit as is. Or as “was”. Don’t get me wrong, the trio of MV3 Nash, “S.T.A.T.” and Matrix were really good together. They’ve won a lot of games together, for sure, but you don’t get trophies for winning regular season games. This isn’t the NHL, having the league’s best record doesn’t guarantee you the President’s Cup and a pat on the back from the commissioner. Now to quote a famous rap artist, let’s kick the logistics here.

A) Shawn Marion is a small forward. Not a power, but SMALL FORWARD. A 3 for those of you keeping score at home. Conversely…
B) Amare is NOT a center. He’s a power forward who’s playing center. You can get away with this sort of thing in college, more than 80-85% of the big schools do so every year. But doing this in the pros will have you pounded into the pavement by a team that has a legitimate big man every time, all the time.

Now looking at this unit, there’s only one man on this roster who stands at over seven feet and his only contribution of worthwhile status is a blog. Yes, a BLOG. If you really think the Suns didn’t need to make this deal, in spite of leading the West at the moment, you’re kidding yourself, delusional or both. With the emergence of Bynum into what no one outside of Kupchak’s office thought he could be, Yao and oh yeah, the Big Franchise in San Antonio, the Suns were speed boating up creek without a rudder. They needed an answer and contrary to what most think, they don’t need Shaq to be an offensive threat. He’s not coming here for that. He’s being brought here to give them what they have none of at the moment. DEFENSE.

Okay, so if that’s the case, why Shaq? You could make the argument that he hasn’t really played since the Heat’s title run a few years back. Well, when properly motivated as I’m sure this SHOULD since he hasn’t really played with a point guard the likes of the MV3 aka Steve Nash…Shaq should be it. Because in reality, the Miami Project has run its course ladies and gents. With Marion and Wade, I think for at least the remainder of Wade’s contract, we’ll see if Marion ends up with the same remorse all get who think the grass is greener without Nash mowing the lawn. Ask Joe Johnson. But back to the point at hand. The purpose behind any trade is to be better off than you were before you made it. Miami, comes out of this with a viable second option to Flash and will probably be the most exciting lottery team to watch this side of…well, any West team that doesn’t crack the top 8.

Ultimately, I think the Suns recognize they’ve got a SERIOUSLY short window of opportunity to get over the hump. The Diesel’s not coming in and being expected to run with the fleet of Porsches that are there. He’s simply there to smash anyone or thing that impedes their progress towards victory lane. Still, there are many flaws with Phoenix that I see as potential problems as they try to maintain and get homecourt locked up. Their lack of bench depth is a MAJOR one. So while this trade gives them an interior presence they haven’t had in…ever, I still think the Lakers are better than them because they have the best frontcourt this side of Detroit and their bench is quietly better than we think. They’re still not better than the Spurs because well, they’re the Spurs. If you’re a Heat fan, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Marion might walk unless Riles can sell him that A) Wade will be around for a while and B) he’ll make sure they’re in a position to compete for another title. So kudos to GM Kerr for attempting to get the Suns some much needed help…even if it is a vintage Diesel with a ton of miles on it and not much go left in the tank.

02/06/08 | Posted by Len | Category NBA 26 comments | Permalink | No Trackbacks |

I know I don't post here often, because well most stories aren't worth posting about. This one is my friends.

Because of someone that was recently acquired by an NBA team, I can tell you who the champion for this year is going to be.

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The Lo-

Wait, fuck them

IT'S THE CHARLOTTE BOBCATS!

Why would I make this prediction you ask? Who could be so prestigious that I would actually come downstairs with a fucked up foot just to post this after watching the end of PTI?

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Ron's favorite player...EARL MOFUCKIN BOYKINS!

02/01/08 | Posted by Chris | Category NBA 13 comments | Permalink | No Trackbacks |