Wow I have been slacking of late, maybe it's because I've been playing my college basketball video game so much Lindsay is about ready to kill me from playing so much. But here are my thoughts on basketball lately, the Blazers more specifically.
They are drained, extremely drained, physically and emotionally, they just look beat. They have also lost their confidence level, you see them hesitating on shots, then just taking worse ones, they aren't passing as much, and most of all they have lost their confidence. Which is not all that surprising for a young team, this is the most involved Webster, Aldridge, Roy, and Outlaw have been for a team, and you can just tell they are tired. End of story, the All Star break is going to be necessary for these guys, they deserve it and they need it.
But it is looking more and more like they will not make the playoffs, and if they get in the lottery and trade a draft pick, they have to get a good PG, I like Blake and I like Jack, and I like Serge, but come on, this team needs a good distributor, and I like Webster at the 3 spot, and yes I like LaMarcus at the four. The one thing this team needs most is a rugged backup PF, Brandon Bass would have been perfect, and they could play them and LaMarcus together, I'm sorry, I think Frye is a good guy and all, but he is just way too soft, we need rebounding, bad. Maybe we could get like a Craig Smith type guy, hell I'd even take Reggie Evans just for the rebounding he would provide (and the fact that the best year of his career was under Nate).
As for the Kidd trade, well, lets see if it happens. Apparently Devean George (yes, THAT Devean George) has blocked the trade. Using a little known clause as a player who is in a one year contract and the team that signed him has early Bird rights for that player, as such, if involved in a trade, said player waives his Bird rights, thereby making it harder for him to get more money on his next deal, and also taking away more money if involved in a sign and trade:
- This is the lesser form of the Larry Bird Exception. Free agents who qualify for this exception are called "early qualifying veteran free agents," and qualify after playing two seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. Using this exception, a team can re-sign its own free agent for either 175% of his salary the previous season, or the NBA's average salary, whichever is greater. Early Bird contracts must be for at least two seasons, but can last no longer than five seasons.
Basically I look at it like this, George sucks, he and his agent probably don't think that he will get signed next year unless he has his Bird rights, and they are just grubbing for money. As a player I can understand, it's business, but now the two teams need to figure something out as an alternative, they could include Eddie Jones and Juwan Howard (but man that would suck SOO bad for Eddie Jones, poor guy just cannot get a championship within his grasp, I tell ya, the one year the Heat won, he was in Memphis, and I think he signed with Miami before the Lakers won, I kinda feel sorry for the guy), so they may work around it, but seriously what a bitch move by George.
If the trade does go down, I would agree, the west is certainly shaping up Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, and Lakers (ugh, that makes me sick to include them), but look to New Orleans to mix things up and make it interesting. As for Jimmy's comment about the team with the easiest path making it, I'm just curious what path that would be? I mean right now, NO is the first seed, then its the Suns, Dallas, Utah, LA, San Antonio, Golden State, and Houston, with Denver and Portland hanging back. I don't think the Blazers will make it, but Denver has a great shot, I mean there is NO easy road in the Western Conference, and honestly I think it is a free for all, I think any of those nine teams could make it to the finals, easy.
And with the trades occurring I mean it isn't like the balance of power has shifted any for any of the top teams. Except maybe the Spurs, who are just looking too old right now. I think Kidd will make Dallas a lot better, and I think Pau AND Bynum together will make the Lakers much tougher, and yes I think Shaq will fit in wonderfully for the Suns (who better to start a fast break, I mean we are looking at Showtime Lakers basketball from these guys with Shaq at center, it will be like having Kareem start the break, and Magic getting the ball to the player in the best position, trust me this is going to be one nasty combo folks!). I could care less about the East, where even Miami and New York still have a shot at getting into the playoffs. But how the West is won will be some of the best basketball anyone has seen in recent history.
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