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What a mess this Kidd to Dallas thing has become, it's just kind of stupid if you ask me, first of all with Devean George being such a whiny little bitch, I mean come on dude, you aren't that good, just shut up and agree to the trade, and then Stackhouse, keep your effin mouth shut dude! If you want this deal to go through then just shut up about returning to Dallas already, sheesh!
Interesting editorial by Canzano here, I mean if Darius Miles could come back and be productive for this team and act like a veteran I would be all for it, but something that is the most glaring for me in this article is the strip club scene. I mean remember when this guy got married? He stated that he had settled down and didn't go out much. What does his wife think about all of this? I mean talk about a slap in the face to her. But if Miles really can't do anything, I tend to agree with Canzano this time. Hang em up dude, especially since he still gets his money, he can always try a comeback when he wants to, and most of all he can still live his NBA lifestyle, he could just join the posse of one of his buddies. Yeah, time to move on.
UPDATE: A little added piece about the Miles column.
And a little piece about James Jones here from Joe Freeman. Jones is a key part of this team, and I think will be one of the most key components to this team in the future, he is the 'veteran' of the squad, and I know he isn't that old, but to the Blazers he is, and he has been there with other teams, Indiana he learned from the great Reggie Miller, and then in Phoenix playing with Nash. In the piece by Freeman, he mentions everything me and my buddies have talked about before with Jones, he is such a smart player, he makes a lot of great little plays, how many times have we all seen him make a weakside block on a shot, come up with a much needed rebound, along with hitting a clutch 3 pointer from the corner. The guy just plays smart, not an overpowering defender but a sneaky good one, he is almost like the teams coach on the court. Which is why this mystery knee injury is so scary, not only for him, but for us as well, we don't need any more bad knees here in Portland, and I hope it is not something that will require major surgery. As such, as much of a detriment it would be for this squad, I almost think they should shut him down for this season and just let him heal all the way. Because, let's be honest, I really don't think the Blazers will make the playoffs this year, and the only reason I would want them to would be for experience anyways. And if Jones is shut down, it is highly likely he will pick up his player option for next year, if not I feel like he will stay around here and I think we definitely want him here, he is the consumate role player. But I want him healthy next year, when this young Blazers team really has a chance to make some serious noise in the league. Time will tell but I think shutting Jones down for the year, especially if the Blazers seriously slip after the All Star break, is the wise thing to do, but only time will tell.....
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.
