For those that didn't get a chance to see Thursday nights Dallas/Oklahoma City game, don't worry - you'll get a chance to see it on ESPN Classic real soon. You will have heard about it by now, so I'm not spoiling anything by telling you the Thunder won a thriller at the buzzer 104-102. This was a hard fought game that was more like the Western Conference Finals series of last year than the 4th game of the season for both of these teams. And all I can say is "damn."
Could this be one of those turning points, those defining moments for a team in a season? I could see it easily being a game where folks look back and say "yeah, this was the game when OKC came together and took it to the next level." And the flip side could easily be true as well...this could be the point when Dallas really has the wheels come off their season. Only time will tell if one or both of these futures will come to pass after this game.
This game was an instant classic, and really demonstrates the growth and maturation of an OKC squad that even last year would have found a way to lose this game. And they damn near did. Ibaka makes a great rebound in traffic, only to miss 2 huge free throws that would have all but iced the game. And then a breakdown in defense by KD allows Vince Carter to shoot a wide open 3 pointer. But all is forgiven when KD takes and makes the game winner. Out of all the superlatives you could heap on this young man, the best of them all is "hard working." He played a lot of hoop in the off season and lock out training and preparing himself for this moment. And its terrific (not just as an OKC fan but a fan of hoops in general) to see all that hard work pay off for not only a great basketball player, but by all accounts a great person as well.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Back on the grind
So as a follow up to my last posting, the Thunder went into the T'Wolves place and got the W in a close game, 104-100. As you'd probably expect, KD took care of business and dropped 33 on the Timberwolves, with Russ Westbrook piling on another 28 and Harden chipping in with 16 from off the bench. For the T'Wolves, Kevin Love picked up where he left off as an All Star last season, throwing up a double double of 22 & 12. Also of note in this game was the debut of rookie Spanish PG sensation Ricky Rubio, who (in 26 minutes) had a decent line of 6 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists. As Ricky got busy on the court showing off his passing skills, he managed to impress even LeBron James who tweeted "Rubio can really pass the rock!" - no small praise from a cat who has been known to pass the rock himself from time to time. Fellow rookie Derrick Williams also showcased he belongs in the L by putting up 13 points in 24 minutes. As an Arizona attendee, I'm sure Harden (who went to Arizona State) had some choice words for the rookie during their time on the court together.
Next up for the Thunder - a rematch from the second round of the playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizz will get a chance to see how they might have fared against the Thunder last year had they had returning star Rudy Gay in the lineup, as Gay is back for the shortened 2011-2012 campaign. This game is being shown on NBA TV, so you can be sure I'm going to be glued to the flat screen at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET. I'll dig deep to give you the real scoop on what went down. Maybe even Tweet live during the game, so be sure to follow @dubbsaq on Twitter if you want the 4-1-1.
In other solid NBA action tonight, there's Clippers/Spurs hotness going on on Fox Sports SW (or NBA League Pass, which is free for a week) at 5:30pm PT and then the late game on NBA TV is the Knicks at the Warriors at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET. The Dubs are taking on a pretty nice Knicks squad who got a big night from Melo in their first game of the season, as he dropped 37 on the Celtics. Should be a great night of NBA action. Hell, who am I kidding? EVERY night there is hoops on, its a great night of NBA action.
Make sure you visit The Corner Three often to stay in touch with what's going on in the world of hoops, and while you're at it, tell a friend. Comments are welcome too, if you got the love of the hardwood like I do. Stay tuned for more news and views on the NBA!
Next up for the Thunder - a rematch from the second round of the playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizz will get a chance to see how they might have fared against the Thunder last year had they had returning star Rudy Gay in the lineup, as Gay is back for the shortened 2011-2012 campaign. This game is being shown on NBA TV, so you can be sure I'm going to be glued to the flat screen at 5:00pm PT/8:00pm ET. I'll dig deep to give you the real scoop on what went down. Maybe even Tweet live during the game, so be sure to follow @dubbsaq on Twitter if you want the 4-1-1.
In other solid NBA action tonight, there's Clippers/Spurs hotness going on on Fox Sports SW (or NBA League Pass, which is free for a week) at 5:30pm PT and then the late game on NBA TV is the Knicks at the Warriors at 7:30pm PT/10:30pm ET. The Dubs are taking on a pretty nice Knicks squad who got a big night from Melo in their first game of the season, as he dropped 37 on the Celtics. Should be a great night of NBA action. Hell, who am I kidding? EVERY night there is hoops on, its a great night of NBA action.
Make sure you visit The Corner Three often to stay in touch with what's going on in the world of hoops, and while you're at it, tell a friend. Comments are welcome too, if you got the love of the hardwood like I do. Stay tuned for more news and views on the NBA!
Monday, December 26, 2011
1 down, 65 to go...
Christmas Day has come and gone, and with it came also the start of the NBA season. 5 games on the NBA plate and they didn't disappoint. Miami absolutely thrashed Dallas in a Finals rematch, and the Lake Show had their hopes for a win busted by the reigning league MVP in Derrick Rose as the Bulls beat LA by 1. But the real action of the night was in the Oklahoma City/Orlando game. What? Ya'll thought I was gonna sleep on that OKC game? Hell no!
Last years scoring champ showed up again last night, putting 30 on the Magic. Westbrook and James Harden both played well, with both guys shot being a little off but found other ways to contribute. Kendrick Perkins looked lean and quick, and was very mobile on D against Dwight Howard. Serge Ibaka chipped in with a couple key blocks, and OKC's bench really played well. The offensive staple was transition buckets, but the Thunder also played well in the half court and the defense was absolutely great. Orlando was held to just 37% from the field, and just under 29% from the 3 point line (a key feature of Orlando's offense).
The final was OKC 97, Orlando 89 - but it really wasn't that close. This one was mostly a blowout from start to finish. Orlando goes back home to host Houston, and OKC travels to Minnesota to take on a new look Timberwolves team. I hope you all are as excited as I am to see some NBA action on Christmas Day, and the rest of the season to come.
One other item of note: if you get a chance, check out NBA TVs production of a show called "Open Court." Its Ernie Johnson hosting a panel of former NBA stars including Reggie Miller, Shaq, Chris Webber, and Charles Barkley. Its an open and honest look by the players at several topics, including embarrassing moments and players who they felt were their nemeses. The panelists are funny, cover a wide range of NBA experience, and the whole thing is smartly and smoothly facilitated by Ernie Johnson (of TNT fame). If you have the time, I highly recommend checking it out. You won't regret it.
Now that the NBA is back, stay tuned to the Corner Three for news and my take on events during the whole season.
Last years scoring champ showed up again last night, putting 30 on the Magic. Westbrook and James Harden both played well, with both guys shot being a little off but found other ways to contribute. Kendrick Perkins looked lean and quick, and was very mobile on D against Dwight Howard. Serge Ibaka chipped in with a couple key blocks, and OKC's bench really played well. The offensive staple was transition buckets, but the Thunder also played well in the half court and the defense was absolutely great. Orlando was held to just 37% from the field, and just under 29% from the 3 point line (a key feature of Orlando's offense).
The final was OKC 97, Orlando 89 - but it really wasn't that close. This one was mostly a blowout from start to finish. Orlando goes back home to host Houston, and OKC travels to Minnesota to take on a new look Timberwolves team. I hope you all are as excited as I am to see some NBA action on Christmas Day, and the rest of the season to come.
One other item of note: if you get a chance, check out NBA TVs production of a show called "Open Court." Its Ernie Johnson hosting a panel of former NBA stars including Reggie Miller, Shaq, Chris Webber, and Charles Barkley. Its an open and honest look by the players at several topics, including embarrassing moments and players who they felt were their nemeses. The panelists are funny, cover a wide range of NBA experience, and the whole thing is smartly and smoothly facilitated by Ernie Johnson (of TNT fame). If you have the time, I highly recommend checking it out. You won't regret it.
Now that the NBA is back, stay tuned to the Corner Three for news and my take on events during the whole season.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
What the heck just happened?
When did everything in the NBA get so complicated? The wild and wacky free agency period we all knew was about to go down just got a lot wilder and a lot wackier. The Chris Paul trade to LA rumors ignited a frenzy in the league over the last few days…and just as quickly things went and took a very bizarre turn when the trade was blocked by the NBA itself (who is also the owner of the Hornets franchise). The reason given was vague at best and rumors of the small market owners complaining to David Stern to block the trade “or else” abound. A lot has been made recently in the media about the collective bargaining agreement and “competitive balance” between the smaller NBA markets and the larger ones. Forgive me as I begin what will only be seen as a rant for the next bit but I have to get this off my chest.
To start, let’s be real about things - small markets are always going to be at a disadvantage to big markets in the NBA - period. There is only one thing that that can negate the extra money, glamour, fame, and amenities that big markets can offer NBA free agents, and that’s winning. Winning cures all ills. Especially in the NBA. And it’s a proven fact that small market teams CAN and WILL keep their superstar players if those players feel like they are having a measure of success. Case in point - San Antonio and the Spurs. More on this later.
A lot goes into being an NBA owner, but the bulk of the job is this: you gotta be smart. To succeed in any business you have to have savvy and a shrewd sense of talent for your field. Professional sports is a guessing game with talent more than most, but there are ways to hedge your bets and take strategic risks on certain types of players. But if you build a culture that puts team first, keep an eye out for the right type of players, get a coach who knows how to win, and get a little lucky, you will be just as successful as the team that throws a ton of cash at every free agent name in the market. Yes, I said you have to get a little lucky, but luck is largely a by product of doing everything you can to put yourself in a position to be successful. Not everyone is going to get a Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant in the lottery, but those teams that did were in small markets and were ready and willing to build around what they knew were “can’t miss” prospects. Both San Antonio and more recently Oklahoma City have taken the small market model and made it wildly successful. How they did it was through hard work and prudent planning. Evaluating and scouting talent correctly. Bringing in guys with character and strong work ethics. Paying contracts to the right players for the right amount of money. Never overspending or taking on too much payroll for the wrong reasons. Not making a big splashy signing just for the sake of making a big splashy signing. Hiring the right coaches, assistant coaches, scouts, and executives. Take care of your veterans and get rookies that know how to play the “right way.” Take chances with some measure of solid information to back why you did it. And THEN and ONLY THEN when you get lucky enough to sign or draft the right guy, you are ready to do the one thing that will keep that player there for the long haul - and that’s win ballgames.
Small market owners complain they don’t get a big enough share of basketball income, and yet they overpay millions to players who under perform or under achieve. They hire “big names” with no track records of success, or worse, have track records of spectacular failure. They make emotional decisions about players and their money and then compound it by making cost cutting business decisions on players they should be trying to keep. Towns like Cleveland and Minnesota are never going to have the sunny beaches and nice weather and lavish lifestyles that places like LA and Miami do - so you have to realize this and fight with the only weapon you have at your disposal that will cut through all of that to the core of most NBA players REALLY want: to win. To be around a culture of winning. And to be a part of the best of a league that boasts some of the greatest athletes on the planet. When you build and keep a culture of winning, no one is really going to care how many nightclubs you have or how many bars you sport or what the weather is like. If you build winning, they will come.
LeBron didn’t leave Cleveland because he didn’t like the weather in Ohio, or because Cleveland didn’t have enough bars or nightclubs, and anyone who thinks otherwise (I’m talking to you little Danny Gilbert) is fooling themselves. LeBron grew up in Akron; he knows what the weather is like. And he wasn’t even old enough to drink legally when he was drafted - so I’m pretty sure the nightclub scene wasn’t on his radar. LeBron left Cleveland because in successive years the Cavs went to the Eastern Conference Finals (lost), the semi-finals (lost), and the first round of the playoffs (lost). LeBron left because in all his years with the Cavs, the best player they brought in to help him as a free agent was Antawn Jamison. LeBron left Cleveland because the ownership, executives, and coaching staff were not committed to building a winning franchise, even though they claimed they were. And that’s it. There’s a reason Tim Duncan never left the Spurs and Kevin Durant signed a recent extension to stay with the Thunder, and you can damn sure bet it didn’t have anything to do with the Riverwalk or Oklahoma City’s nightlife.
And this brings us full circle to the recent unpleasantness that is the current NBA free agency period. For David Stern to block the trade of a player like Chris Paul to a team like the Lakers is nothing short of sheer lunacy. And for the reason behind it to be nothing more than petty vindictiveness on the part of small market NBA owners is even more lunacy; that is to say, these owners and the commish that represents them are lunatics, i.e. crazy. And the only reason given is that its “what’s in the best interests of the Hornets team” and “basketball reasons.” Really? That’s all the media and the rest of the fans get, in a day and age where we have access to the internet, players direct Twitter & Facebook feeds, and an enormous wealth of information in general? Did Stern really think the story about him caving in to petty owners demands and the letter from little Danny Gilbert himself wasn’t going to find its way into the public’s hands? The league offices must really think the public is gullible, stupid, or both.
Here’s my open letter of comment to all the parties involved with blocking the Chris Paul trade debacle: smarten up. Instead of blaming your woes on outside influences, try taking a look in the mirror instead. If you’d paid the right guys the right amount of money, and put smart people in charge of your franchise instead of people with no clue on how to run an NBA business, maybe you wouldn’t be complaining so much. Maybe you wouldn’t be complaining so much because instead of what you have, you’d have a franchise that was actually winning. And when you’re winning, you bring in fans. And fans buy stuff, like t-shirts, players jerseys, and food and beer at your venues. And when you have fans buying merchandise, you can bet your bippy they are also watching your team on TV when they can’t come to the stadium. And when they are watching TV and buying merchandise, you get television and merchandise revenue streams that make you even richer than you already are, and it DOES affect your “basketball related income.” And one other thing happens when you win - you have good, great, star, and superstar players that want to come to your town, and more importantly, they want to stay in your town. Like Duncan did in San Antonio, and Durant did in Oklahoma City. And when your stars stay in your town, they bring their friends with them. And when your stars stay and they bring their friends with them, you tend to win even more. And winning brings in the fans who buy stuff…well, you get the idea. Hey, it looks like I just figured out the business of the NBA, and I’m not one of the dozens of overpaid executives sitting in front offices all across the U.S. I guess at the end of the day, the question is this - if a nobody blogger fan like me can figure out this business, why can’t they?
To start, let’s be real about things - small markets are always going to be at a disadvantage to big markets in the NBA - period. There is only one thing that that can negate the extra money, glamour, fame, and amenities that big markets can offer NBA free agents, and that’s winning. Winning cures all ills. Especially in the NBA. And it’s a proven fact that small market teams CAN and WILL keep their superstar players if those players feel like they are having a measure of success. Case in point - San Antonio and the Spurs. More on this later.
A lot goes into being an NBA owner, but the bulk of the job is this: you gotta be smart. To succeed in any business you have to have savvy and a shrewd sense of talent for your field. Professional sports is a guessing game with talent more than most, but there are ways to hedge your bets and take strategic risks on certain types of players. But if you build a culture that puts team first, keep an eye out for the right type of players, get a coach who knows how to win, and get a little lucky, you will be just as successful as the team that throws a ton of cash at every free agent name in the market. Yes, I said you have to get a little lucky, but luck is largely a by product of doing everything you can to put yourself in a position to be successful. Not everyone is going to get a Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant in the lottery, but those teams that did were in small markets and were ready and willing to build around what they knew were “can’t miss” prospects. Both San Antonio and more recently Oklahoma City have taken the small market model and made it wildly successful. How they did it was through hard work and prudent planning. Evaluating and scouting talent correctly. Bringing in guys with character and strong work ethics. Paying contracts to the right players for the right amount of money. Never overspending or taking on too much payroll for the wrong reasons. Not making a big splashy signing just for the sake of making a big splashy signing. Hiring the right coaches, assistant coaches, scouts, and executives. Take care of your veterans and get rookies that know how to play the “right way.” Take chances with some measure of solid information to back why you did it. And THEN and ONLY THEN when you get lucky enough to sign or draft the right guy, you are ready to do the one thing that will keep that player there for the long haul - and that’s win ballgames.
Small market owners complain they don’t get a big enough share of basketball income, and yet they overpay millions to players who under perform or under achieve. They hire “big names” with no track records of success, or worse, have track records of spectacular failure. They make emotional decisions about players and their money and then compound it by making cost cutting business decisions on players they should be trying to keep. Towns like Cleveland and Minnesota are never going to have the sunny beaches and nice weather and lavish lifestyles that places like LA and Miami do - so you have to realize this and fight with the only weapon you have at your disposal that will cut through all of that to the core of most NBA players REALLY want: to win. To be around a culture of winning. And to be a part of the best of a league that boasts some of the greatest athletes on the planet. When you build and keep a culture of winning, no one is really going to care how many nightclubs you have or how many bars you sport or what the weather is like. If you build winning, they will come.
LeBron didn’t leave Cleveland because he didn’t like the weather in Ohio, or because Cleveland didn’t have enough bars or nightclubs, and anyone who thinks otherwise (I’m talking to you little Danny Gilbert) is fooling themselves. LeBron grew up in Akron; he knows what the weather is like. And he wasn’t even old enough to drink legally when he was drafted - so I’m pretty sure the nightclub scene wasn’t on his radar. LeBron left Cleveland because in successive years the Cavs went to the Eastern Conference Finals (lost), the semi-finals (lost), and the first round of the playoffs (lost). LeBron left because in all his years with the Cavs, the best player they brought in to help him as a free agent was Antawn Jamison. LeBron left Cleveland because the ownership, executives, and coaching staff were not committed to building a winning franchise, even though they claimed they were. And that’s it. There’s a reason Tim Duncan never left the Spurs and Kevin Durant signed a recent extension to stay with the Thunder, and you can damn sure bet it didn’t have anything to do with the Riverwalk or Oklahoma City’s nightlife.
And this brings us full circle to the recent unpleasantness that is the current NBA free agency period. For David Stern to block the trade of a player like Chris Paul to a team like the Lakers is nothing short of sheer lunacy. And for the reason behind it to be nothing more than petty vindictiveness on the part of small market NBA owners is even more lunacy; that is to say, these owners and the commish that represents them are lunatics, i.e. crazy. And the only reason given is that its “what’s in the best interests of the Hornets team” and “basketball reasons.” Really? That’s all the media and the rest of the fans get, in a day and age where we have access to the internet, players direct Twitter & Facebook feeds, and an enormous wealth of information in general? Did Stern really think the story about him caving in to petty owners demands and the letter from little Danny Gilbert himself wasn’t going to find its way into the public’s hands? The league offices must really think the public is gullible, stupid, or both.
Here’s my open letter of comment to all the parties involved with blocking the Chris Paul trade debacle: smarten up. Instead of blaming your woes on outside influences, try taking a look in the mirror instead. If you’d paid the right guys the right amount of money, and put smart people in charge of your franchise instead of people with no clue on how to run an NBA business, maybe you wouldn’t be complaining so much. Maybe you wouldn’t be complaining so much because instead of what you have, you’d have a franchise that was actually winning. And when you’re winning, you bring in fans. And fans buy stuff, like t-shirts, players jerseys, and food and beer at your venues. And when you have fans buying merchandise, you can bet your bippy they are also watching your team on TV when they can’t come to the stadium. And when they are watching TV and buying merchandise, you get television and merchandise revenue streams that make you even richer than you already are, and it DOES affect your “basketball related income.” And one other thing happens when you win - you have good, great, star, and superstar players that want to come to your town, and more importantly, they want to stay in your town. Like Duncan did in San Antonio, and Durant did in Oklahoma City. And when your stars stay in your town, they bring their friends with them. And when your stars stay and they bring their friends with them, you tend to win even more. And winning brings in the fans who buy stuff…well, you get the idea. Hey, it looks like I just figured out the business of the NBA, and I’m not one of the dozens of overpaid executives sitting in front offices all across the U.S. I guess at the end of the day, the question is this - if a nobody blogger fan like me can figure out this business, why can’t they?
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Guess who's back?
So by now you know…the NBA is back baby! Well, not exactly…the new CBA does have to be ratified by the NBAPA still, but this is pretty much a done deal. When the NBA is adding games to the Christmas Day schedule, you know that smell in the air is optimism. In addition to Celtics/Knicks, Heat/Mavs, and Bulls/Lakers, we also now get Magic/Thunder (booyah baby!) and Warriors/Clippers. So what comes next? I’m glad you asked…because I’m here to help you out with that.
So first things first…a few items of note on the new CBA and the lockout’s ending. We are little past of the point of winners & losers in this whole deal - but for the sake of argument, let’s recap what has come before. Here are a few important links to help you get caught up on what the CBA means to the owners and the players.
Grantland Winners & Losers article
TrueHoop Winners & Losers article
New CBA Details article
Now that you’ve gotten caught up on the past (lockout news) and the present (new CBA details) what’s left…the future of course! Let’s spend a few minutes talking about the upcoming free agency period and current trade rumors. The links below will get you a list of free agents (both restricted and unrestricted) and keep in mind that there are still some cats who are locked into deals in China who WON’T be coming back until March 2012.
ESPN.com Free Agent Listing
Now, who are the big names on the market looking at trade rumors? The usual suspects of course…Chris Paul and Dwight Howard top this list. CP3 is looking for a deal to get him to the Knicks, even though his agent already acknowledges that CP3 knows that the Knickerbockers don’t have any trade assets to send back to Nawlins in trade for him. So why in the heck would NOLA do this deal? A more important question, heard recently on Dan LeBatard’s show “Highly Questionable” is this: how does the NBA, only recently removed from its lockout of the NBA players due to wha it referred to as “competitive balance issues” sanction a trade of a small market team’s best player to a HUGE market and still look itself in the mirror in the morning? Because, as we all remember, the NBA is the current owner of the Hornets after having taken the team into receivorship from the previous owner George Shinn. There is no way in the world the League can say it locked out the players over this very argument and then support the trade of CP3 ANYWHERE.
As for D12...looks like a lot of other team are going to be in the hunt for him. The Lakers and Nets are known to have assets that Orlando might actually want back for him in trade, but the real question is where does HE want to go. So far, he’s been mum on any requests for a trade, but you know dude is hurting. After getting punked by the Lakers in the Finals a few years ago and breaking up their team, the Magic haven’t sniffed the Finals since. And you get the feeling that the team wants to say they are competitive but how much have they really done to make the Magic a player in the East? And how many of the champs have come from the East in the last decade? 2? And both of them were 1 and done. Not repeating like the Lake Show has or doing they dynasty impression like the Spurs did. The East the Leastern Conference and everyone knows this. I smell a “Decision-like” dilemma coming for that team in Orlando. Which is terrible because I wouldn’t wish that LeBron thing to happen to anyone else ever again. The reality is more like something approaching what went down in Denver last year with Carmelo Anthony, with Dwight silently standing on the sidelines while his agent does all the “Dwight wants to be a Laker” talking. And the Magic brass doing their best Vin Diesel impressions working “fast and furious” to find a deal that makes sense, keeps them competitive, maybe (just maybe) sheds a few dollars, and gets slightly more than 50 cents on the dollar back for them in trade.
There’s going to be lots of NBA news to come…December 9th is a our next magic date…with the new CBA signed and locked in, the lockout ends (officially). Free agency begins, training camps open, and the craziness of the summer of the NBA gets compressed into a few short weeks. If you’re a fan of hoops (and if you’re reading this blog, you’d better be) this is going to be a very exciting and interesting couple of weeks.
So first things first…a few items of note on the new CBA and the lockout’s ending. We are little past of the point of winners & losers in this whole deal - but for the sake of argument, let’s recap what has come before. Here are a few important links to help you get caught up on what the CBA means to the owners and the players.
Grantland Winners & Losers article
TrueHoop Winners & Losers article
New CBA Details article
Now that you’ve gotten caught up on the past (lockout news) and the present (new CBA details) what’s left…the future of course! Let’s spend a few minutes talking about the upcoming free agency period and current trade rumors. The links below will get you a list of free agents (both restricted and unrestricted) and keep in mind that there are still some cats who are locked into deals in China who WON’T be coming back until March 2012.
ESPN.com Free Agent Listing
Now, who are the big names on the market looking at trade rumors? The usual suspects of course…Chris Paul and Dwight Howard top this list. CP3 is looking for a deal to get him to the Knicks, even though his agent already acknowledges that CP3 knows that the Knickerbockers don’t have any trade assets to send back to Nawlins in trade for him. So why in the heck would NOLA do this deal? A more important question, heard recently on Dan LeBatard’s show “Highly Questionable” is this: how does the NBA, only recently removed from its lockout of the NBA players due to wha it referred to as “competitive balance issues” sanction a trade of a small market team’s best player to a HUGE market and still look itself in the mirror in the morning? Because, as we all remember, the NBA is the current owner of the Hornets after having taken the team into receivorship from the previous owner George Shinn. There is no way in the world the League can say it locked out the players over this very argument and then support the trade of CP3 ANYWHERE.
As for D12...looks like a lot of other team are going to be in the hunt for him. The Lakers and Nets are known to have assets that Orlando might actually want back for him in trade, but the real question is where does HE want to go. So far, he’s been mum on any requests for a trade, but you know dude is hurting. After getting punked by the Lakers in the Finals a few years ago and breaking up their team, the Magic haven’t sniffed the Finals since. And you get the feeling that the team wants to say they are competitive but how much have they really done to make the Magic a player in the East? And how many of the champs have come from the East in the last decade? 2? And both of them were 1 and done. Not repeating like the Lake Show has or doing they dynasty impression like the Spurs did. The East the Leastern Conference and everyone knows this. I smell a “Decision-like” dilemma coming for that team in Orlando. Which is terrible because I wouldn’t wish that LeBron thing to happen to anyone else ever again. The reality is more like something approaching what went down in Denver last year with Carmelo Anthony, with Dwight silently standing on the sidelines while his agent does all the “Dwight wants to be a Laker” talking. And the Magic brass doing their best Vin Diesel impressions working “fast and furious” to find a deal that makes sense, keeps them competitive, maybe (just maybe) sheds a few dollars, and gets slightly more than 50 cents on the dollar back for them in trade.
There’s going to be lots of NBA news to come…December 9th is a our next magic date…with the new CBA signed and locked in, the lockout ends (officially). Free agency begins, training camps open, and the craziness of the summer of the NBA gets compressed into a few short weeks. If you’re a fan of hoops (and if you’re reading this blog, you’d better be) this is going to be a very exciting and interesting couple of weeks.
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