don't ever underestimate the heart of the desperate

with the sacramento kings trading ron artest to the houston rockets for bobby jackson, donte greene and a 2009 first round draft pick, the western conference becomes more crowded at the top. the acquisition of artest definitely makes the rockets legitimate contenders to do more in the playoffs than lose in the first round. while ron artest deserves the reputation that he has, he is much more complex than a crazy person. for example, a fair amount of his salary has gone to friends and charity, to the point that he filed for bankruptcy. [i'm not sure if that's more foolish or generous.] and in 2006, he promised to donate his upcoming season salary if the kings resigned bonzi wells and rick adelman.

with that being said, artest is prone to make dumb and/or silly decisions on and off the court. infamously he was involved the palace brawl,¹ which took his reputation from an intense and arguably dirty player to an insane person. even right before the brawl, he showed his immaturity by asking to take a month off during the season because he was tired from promoting allure, a group on his music label. in addition to that, in the final minutes of game six of the eastern conference finals, he committed a crucial flagrant foul in retaliation, a game that the pacers lost by four and ultimately ended their season. and last, but not least, during his rookie season, artest applied for a job at circuit city so that he could get the employee discount.

so why would any team want ron artest? because the houston rockets cannot afford to not take that risk when they have six first round exits in their last six trips to the playoffs, with yao and mcgrady being a part of four of those teams. artest will bring toughness and swagger that has been missing in the rockets during the yao ming/tracy mcgrady era. artest's intensity has been illustrated throughout his career, and it has been both a strength and a weakness, with his winning defensive player of the year as an example of its positive and the palace brawl as an example of its negative. [another instance of his volatile nature would be the time when he broke two of michael jordan's ribs in a pickup basketball game after jordan was trash-talking about how poor artest was.] along with his physicality, he creates match-up problems on offense, where he will be able to take some of scoring load from yao and mcgrady as well as help space the floor. so as long artest can behave and mature as a player and a person, the rockets will be on the same level as the western conference elite, especially since they didn't sacrifice much in order to get him. other than an artest implosion and injuries [which are both serious concerns], the only way i can see this trade failing for the rockets is if they re-institute their hideous jerseys from the mid-to-late 90's.

¹ i will say that if not for the brawl, we would not have been able to witness jermaine o'neal punching some guy right in the face, a moment that will go down as one of the greatest to ever happened on a basketball court.

the setting suns

on february 6, 2008, the suns and the heat[s] agreed to a trade where shaquille o'neal would go to phoenix in exchange for shawn marion and marcus banks. shaq is scheduled to receive roughly $40 million over the next two years [not including the current '07-'08 season] while marion can opt out of his final year of his contract after this season.

for a variety of reasons, the phoenix suns decided to move in a different direction with their team. by trading shawn marion and throw-in marcus banks for shaquille o'neal, they lose a player who can play multiple positions, shoot the three [although it's hard to tell if he's taking a jump shot or making a chest pass] and finish on a fast break; however, the suns gain a player who has won four championships, commands double teams and protect the paint on defense. while this may seem as a bad trade for the suns considering shaq does not fit into the offense as well as marion does, i can see this move working out for both teams.

this transaction will benefit the heat mostly because they are able to shed the albatross that is shaquille o'neal's salary. in exchange they receive what essentially is the equivalent of an expiring contract in shawn marion [assuming he opts out]. not only that, shawn marion is one of most versatile and durable players in the league. the heat are also getting a happier marion now that he will also be the second option on offense and actually have plays run for him, as opposed to rarely having any plays run him in phoenix. furthermore, at their respective points in their careers, marion seems to be the better player.

the only reason that i think that this trade may hurt the heat is if it alienates dwyane wade. it's been well documented that shaq and wade were good friends and in a recent interview after the trade was announced, wade was noticeably saddened by the news [though that can be attributed to the shock]. in the end, wade's reaction in no way guarantees that he will leave once his contract expires, but the heat should be wary. if the heat don't improve their roster and start winning again, i can't see him signing another contract for them.

as for suns, they already have been much maligned by the fans and the media alike for this move. suns' management have been more optimistic, and so they should be. for example, the suns have not been able to reach the finals with marion, with a main reason being that they were unable to get defensive stops down the stretch. as good a defender as marion is, he couldn't defend the elite power fowards and centers. in fact, in the first round of the 2006 playoffs against the lakers, marion couldn't even guard lamar odom or kwame brown. i don't even need to say how bad that is. additionally, once the game's tempo slowed down in the playoffs, they had trouble generating a reliable half court offense and/or maintaining a lead since they had to deviate from their running style to bleed the clock. the addition of shaq should alleviate both of those problems as their frontcourt will be bigger with amare stoudemire moving to the power forward position and having someone who is comfortable in a conventional half-court offense.

another criticism of the trade is shaq not being the same player that he used to be. true, he can't score or move as he once was able, but phoenix doesn't need his scoring as much as they need his interior defense and presence in the paint, something that marion couldn't offer. moreover, there is no excuse why they suns won't be able to run with shaq in the lineup. even if shaq can't keep the same pace, the suns have already proved that they don't need each player to run to maintain their running style with how they used kurt thomas when he was on the court.

some have said that this move was unnecessary since they had the best record in the western conference at the time of the trade. but their record was misleading; their impressive winning percentage comes from their 20-2 record against the east, compared with their 14-13 record against the west. the suns' reaction to the lakers acquisition of pau gasol was to trade for shaq, and though it may have seemed imprudent [especially since they had the better record], it does not mean it was foolish. the suns knew that they wouldn't be able to get through the playoffs with marion, and now they match up better with the lakers than any other western conference contender, including the spurs.

probably the biggest improvement in the suns acquiring shaq can be seen in the demeanors of their players. both steve nash and amare stoudemire crowed about how shaq's personality will help the team in the locker room. when shawn marion asked to be be traded this past off-season and said that he didn't want to be the third banana in phoenix anymore, it hurt the chemistry of the team, no matter what the suns' record and marion's stats may suggest. also, there were whispers that marion and stoudemire didn't get along, in contrast to shaq and amare quoted as being good friends. the suns seem to be happier with this trade, which in itself is worth much more than people realize.

in the end, the benefits listed of trading for shaq are contingent on his health. but it was a risk that they needed to take; the window for a championship is closing fast with nash not having too many years ahead of him. if they have a healthy shaq, they have a better chance in the playoffs than they did with marion, but then again, that's one big 'if.'

the rich get richer and the poor get dumber

on february 1, 2008, the lakers received pau gasol and a 2010 second round pick from the grizzlies for kwame brown, jarvaris crittendon, aaron mckie, the rights to marc gasol, a 2008 first round pick and a 2010 first round pick.

in the recent trade with the grizzlies, the lakers were able to obtain a highly productive and highly talented player in pau gasol without sacrificing anyone in their regular rotation except for kwame brown. in essence, the lakers replaced kwame brown's spot in the rotation with pau gasol. if that isn't an upgrade, then i don't know what is. when healthy, the lakers starting five consist of derek fisher, kobe bryant, lamar odom, pau gasol and andrew bynum. in addition, they were able to keep their deep and effective bench intact, with includes jordan farmar, sasha vujacic,¹ luke walton, vladimir radmanovic, trevor ariza and ronny turiaf. such a lineup will provide versatility and depth that can match almost any playing style that the lakers may encounter.

with that being said, the addition of pau gasol does not automatically make the lakers the favorite to win the nba finals like many experts believe [the spurs should still be the favorite]. for example, no one knows how well gasol will fit with the lakers, and there may be rotation issues when andrew bynum returns from his injury. with gasol and bynum playing the power forward and center positions, respectively, lamar odom moves to small forward, where he may not be as comfortable. odom will be moved to the perimeter to space the offense, and he will be asked to guard smaller and quicker players on defense. but there is an advantage of odom playing small forward. he will have a considerable size advantage on the offensive end, where he should be able to garner his fair share of offensive rebounds. in the end, i do expect odom to play better with the pressure of being the second best player on the team being lifted.

while some may view the acquisition of kwame brown as helping the grizzlies in terms of clearing cap space for this off-season, it also benefits the lakers as well. while the grizzlies will have approximately $17 million to spend in free agency after this season, kwame brown's expiring contract would not have helped the lakers as much. though the lakers would have taken kwame's contract off the books, the money freed up still wouldn't have allowed the lakers to land a free agent that would be the same caliber as pau gasol. basically, the grizzlies helped the lakers with kwame brown's expiring contract as much as they helped themselves.

this questionable trade for grizzlies becomes even more so when considering the trading for rookie point guard javarvis crittendon. i understand that he has value since he may develop into a good player, but the grizzlies already have two young point guards in mike conley jr and kyle lowry [both of whom were high lottery picks]. not only that, the grizzlies rarely play conley and lowry at the same time; so crittendon, as a third string point guard, won't get much playing time. now, having crittendon as a team's young third string point guard only makes sense if there is an aging poing guard ahead of him that he would allow him to move up in the depth chart once he leaves/retires, but that isn't the case with the grizzlies. hopefully memphis general manager chris wallace has a plan to trade one of the young point guards, otherwise it will be a logjam at that position. furthermore, with the emergence of jordan farmar as a quality backup point guard, jarvaris crittendon became expendable, which made it easier for the lakers to trade him.

so other than kwame brown's expiring contract and jarvaris crittendon, what else did the grizzlies get in trading arguably the best player in their franchise's history? by the looks of things, not much. true, the grizzlies did receive two first round picks from the lakers, but realize that these two first round picks will at best be in the late teens [but more likely, these two first round picks will be in the twenties]. i still wonder when teams will learn that low draft picks are not that valuable based on the fact that most of the previous ones have not had that much impact in the league. the last remaining piece of the trade is the grizzlies gaining the rights to marc gasol [yes, he and pau gasol are siblings]. some scouts say that he may develop into a player like his brother, but at this point no one really knows.

in conclusion, the lakers obviously became title contenders with the trade for pau gasol since they didn't really didn't give anything that great of value to get him. the grizzlies look like they got the short end of the deal, and this trade raises the question of what the other offers were for pau gasol since their asking price wasn't that much. the lakers now have a bigger and stronger frontcourt, while the grizzlies only have the hope that this trade will expedite the rebuilding process. i'm sure chris wallace believes that this trade will help build a championship contender; unfortunately for grizzlies, it looks like he's building it in los angeles.

¹ much like pau gasol, sasha vujacic instantly became a better player when he decided to grow a beard and grow his hair out. i can't stress it enough that this is what all struggling or fringe players should do to help their careers. i call this 'the samson effect.'

the rivalry lives on

on july 31, 2007, the boston celtics traded al jefferson, theo ratliff, ryan gomes, sebastian telfair, gerald green, the celtics' 2009 first round draft pick [top 3 protected], the celtics' 2009 first round pick [originally the wolves'] and cash considerations to the minnesota timberwolves for kevin garnett.

kevin garnett going to the celtics had as much to do with finding the right value as it does with mchale helping his old franchise [the celtics] and spiting his old rival [the lakers]. i will review the kevin garnett trade saga as far as we know it to prove my point.

the following are actual proposed deals prior to the 2007 nba draft, which took place on june 28. i deliberately left out players who were included in the trade only for salary matching purposes [save for theo ratliff, who really isn't even a person anymore as he is a major bargaining chip].

june 23, 2007

wolves get al jefferson, the no. 5 pick, theo ratliff, wally szczerbiak and sebastian telfair
celtics get kevin garnett and troy hudson

analysis : this trade is quite similar to the trade that actually did get done, except the wolves didn't get the no. 5 pick. instead they received a different collection of garbage players and two 2009 draft picks [which will most likely be in the mid-20s]. if i were kevin mchale, i'd rather have the 2007 no. 5 pick.

june 23, 2007

wolves get shawn marion and the suns' 2008 first round pick [via hawks]
suns get kevin garnett

analysis : this is your classic 60 cents on the dollar trade, although that hawks pick looks very tempting. i think steve kerr was trying to pull a fast one on mchale, which isn't really difficult.

june 23, 2007

wolves get al jefferson, the no. 5 pick and theo ratliff
suns get kevin garnett
celtics get shawn marion

analysis : the wolves would receive the same parts as an earlier trade proposal, only in this situation kg goes to the suns and the celtics receive marion. this deal had a good chance of completion, save for the fact that marion didn't want to go to boston [or minnesota for that matter]. the wolves still would've traded garnett for 60 cents on the dollar if this deal went through.

june 26, 2007

wolves get al jefferson, the no. 5 pick, theo ratliff and sebastian telfair
lakers get kevin garnett
celtics get jermaine o'neal
pacers get lamar odom and andrew bynum

analysis : this is the trade that should've happened. this deal was very close to completion, but the celtics balked at the last moment because they didn't want to give up al jefferson. the celtics offered a combination of other players instead [eg gerald green, ryan gomes, etc] but the wolves insisted on jefferson. i can see why mchale wanted jefferson, but even without jefferson the wolves would've got a better package than what they ultimately received. basically, they received jefferson and two mid-20 draft picks instead of the no. 5 pick. while jefferson has a promising future, the mid-20 picks will have little impact on a team, especially a team with a gm [mchale] who doesn't draft well. in a nfl draft, an argument can made that a no. 5 pick has the same worth as two late first rounders, but this is not the case in the nba. the talent level of potential draftees drop significantly after the first 10 picks in a nba draft. if you don't believe me, here are some of the recent no. 5 picks compared with recent mid-20 picks.

noteworthy no. 5 draft picks

1. charles barkley [1984]
2. dwyane wade [2003]
3. kevin garnett [1995]
4. scottie pippen [1987]
5. vince carter [1998]

noteworthy mid-20s draft picks

1. tony parker [2001]
2. [hm...]
3. [um...]
4. [well...]
5. mark madsen [2000]

so, the only decision mchale had to weigh was whether or not jefferson was equivalent to a no. 5 pick. it's a pretty close call, but i'd rather have the no. 5 pick in a deep 2007 draft.

june 26, 2007

wolves get lamar odom, andrew bynum and the 19th pick
lakers get kevin garnett

analysis : the lakers were desperate at this point, and the wolves would be foolish to trade garnett without getting a high draft pick.

june 27, 2007

wolves get the no. 3 pick, the no. 11 pick
suns get kevin garnett
hawks get amare stoudamire and an undisclosed player

analysis : this trade is intriguing because each team would benefit. the wolves would've had 3 top-11 picks in deep 2007 draft. apparently this deal didn't go through because the hawks' various owners couldn't agree on this trade. and that's why the hawks are the hawks.

june 27, 2007

wolves get the no. 3 pick and the no. 11 pick
lakers get kevin garnett
hawks get jermaine o'neal
pacers get lamar odom and andrew bynum

analysis : this deal didn't go through for the same reason as the above trade proposal. and people wonder why the hawks don't win more games with the talent they have.

june 28, 2007

wolves get the no. 8 pick and an undisclosed player
suns get kevin garnett
bobcats get amare stoudemire and marcus banks

analysis : everyone does well in this proposal, except for the wolves. unless that undisclosed player is early to mid-90s michael jordan.

june 28, 2007

wolves get the no. 8 pick
warriors get kevin garnett
bobcats get jason richardson

analysis : this is 30 cents on the dollar, if that. nobody is getting kevin garnett for a no. 8 pick or jason richardson. i can't believe this was proposed. nice try warriors, bobcats.

anyway, the wolves would have got a better deal if they traded garnett to the lakers, and i can [kind of] understand that they didn't want to trade garnett to a team in their own conference. with that being said, i have never believed in the concept of not trading within the same conference or division. if a team believes that a trade was good for them [and i don't think a gm would think that a trade they agreed upon was unfair], why does it matter that they would play the team they traded with more than a team from another conference? it's basically an admission that the other team came out better than them. not only that, if that other team is better, then they would play against other teams in the conference and hinder the remaining teams. it's called balance.

in conclusion, i honestly think that mchale received a better offer from the lakers than the trade that ultimately sent garnett to boston. i firmly believe that he never had the intention to trade garnett to the lakers because of the celtics-lakers rivalry, and for that same reason he accepted a [slightly] lesser offer from the celtics. and if you didn't know that, you were fooled. but you not a fool, are you?

we are all witnesses, but are we watching?

here's lebron with the ball on a 2-on-1, passes it to his right, gets it back, he goes up and--oh! LEBRON JAMES! with the facial! and the foul!

we have seen and heard this playcall [or one like it] of lebron james finishing a fast break with an authoritative slam dunk countless times before. in fact, we have seen this sequence unfold in the exact same way each and every time. it happens in exactly the same way in the sense that lebron has only three dunks in his repertoire: a two-handed overhead tomahawk dunk, a one-handed overhead tomahawk dunk and their cousin, a bring-the-ball-as-high-as-possible statue of liberty dunk [all of which can arguably be grouped together as being the same dunk with only a slight variation, which would be mean that he employs just one dunk]. if you don't believe me, watch any of lebron's highlight videos.

don't get me wrong, lebron james is a magnificent player, and long after his career is over, he will [most likely] be considered one of the all-time greats. but given his superhuman natural ability, he is the most uncreative player in the league. not only should he throw down some of the most creative dunks of all time, it is his duty to do what others cannot. i know that there are some who disagree and say that lebron is one of the most amazing dunkers today, to which i cannot disagree. but what makes his dunks so riveting really isn't his creativity, it's the fact that they are over players of all sizes and shapes [see tim duncan, rasheed wallace, damon jones, etc].

in each of his 4 nba seasons, lebron james has declined to participate in the slam dunk contest. in a 2006 commercial, lebron [as 'business lebron'] stated that dunk contests are "bourgeois." he would like us to believe that such a competition is above his level, that for someone of his caliber entering the dunk contest would be trite. i, on the other hand, have a different theory as to why lebron does not enter such a contest.

at this point in his young career, lebron has already garnered the distinction of being a top-tier dunker. with that in mind, he knows that if he entered the dunk contest, he would have very little to gain and everything to lose as far as reputations go. if lebron were to enter the dunk contest next year, he would go in as the favorite regardless of who the other entrants are. and if he wins, it would only confirm the uneducated and flawed opinion in most people's minds that he is an unparalleled dunker. anything less than a victory would be considered a failure. and if he were to lose [and it is my belief that not only would he lose, he would lose by a fairly large margin], he would also be exposed to the masses as the boring dunker that he is. it is this fear as to why he will never enter another dunk contest.

there still may be some who will say that the reason lebron chooses to not do creative dunks in a game is the thought that he doesn't want to risk missing an easy 2 points for his team. this may be true, but further proof of lebron being an uninnovative dunker can be found in footage of a slam dunk contest that he entered while he was in high school.



the evidence above speaks for itself. it's not as though lebron was lacking immaculate athletic ability at that age [it is fairly obvious to the contrary]. simply put, lebron james is unimaginative as a pure dunker. true, lebron may be the next jordan, but he's no vince carter.