Wednesday, July 29, 2009

New Guy Number Two

Drew Gooden is coming to Dallas.

Add a dash of Katherine Hepburn to this sentence; and that's to be the savior of my Mavericks.

I see a couple of potential problems. First has to do with, for lack of a better word, player-taming. Word around the coffee pot is he's got no discipline and is a wee bit of a knucklehead. The teams he's been on haven't seemed motivated to keep him. Second has to do with position. Gooden's a rebounder, but not a banger. Can he realistically back up Dampier, or supplant him as starter?

Not enthusiastic. A news bit on DB.com has me wondering who's screwing who here.

For a little pick-me-up, the good folks at Basketball Reference have picked their All-Decade team for the Years Zero. It's a team I'd trust against the Forces of Evil, no problem. Guess who starts at forward alongside Tim Duncan?

Hint: It ain't Garnett.
-BJ

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

News Flash!

According to TMZ, they've got cameraphone video of The Dunk That Never Happened -- a high school kid attending a skills camp dunking on The Baby James. According to rumor, shortly after it went down, Lebron called over a guy and next thing you know all the reporters onsite were asked to turn over any video recordings.

Dear Person Who Authorized The Confiscation,

I'll be blunt. Where are your brains, in your ass?

Do you have any idea the positive press you could have gotten from this? Offhand, I can think of three or four different ways this could've turned out to be manna from Heaven as far as James's personal image goes. He could've embraced the kid and called him brother. He could've offered the kid's folks courtside seats for the next season. At the very least, he could've gotten a lot of positive mileage just by shaking his hand and congratulating him on a lucky shot.

Instead, you did something that drips with superdickery. On top of walking away from the handshake at the conference finals, it adds up to make Lebron James -- the poster boy for tomorrow's NBA -- look like a dick. And if it was you, sir, who asked the reporters to do this, you are a dick.

You idiot.
-BJ

Let's Be Real Here

Odom's going back to LA. You know it. I know it. Ceiling Cat knows it. Basement Cat (secretly a Lakers fan) knows it. This is an arguement over the NBA equivalent of a sawbuck; surely somebody with common sense will put it back on a strictly business level. Nice to dream. Never gonna happen.

I hate the offseason. Is it October yet?
-BJ

PS: Hi Angry Trey! :-D

Monday, July 13, 2009

You Gotta Be Fuckin' Kidding Me!!!!!

According to the man's agent, the Orlando Magic have matched the Mavericks' offer to Marcin Gortat. Putting them over the salary cap, flushing any chance of making any moves next offseason, overfilling their team with oversized players (and screwing Brandon Bass back onto the bench like as not). And by the way, fucking us out of a near as make no nevermind essential upgrade.

Fuck(8*10^3)!

Well let's hope Messrs. Cuban and Nelson have another miracle up their sleeves. Is there anyone else in free agency right now that'll work for midlevel money and can play decent Big-Ass Center?
-BJ

Friday, July 10, 2009

J . . . K . . . L . . . M . . . Mate. Matrix.

Okay, so we're saying goodbye to Wright, George, and Stackhouse. Bass too, probably, because his position's been filled and he's looking for more minutes and money anyway. (UPDATE: Confirmed, the Magic have made him an offer, 4 years, $18 million.) Between them, some pretty good ballplayers, with yards of heart and guts.

That's what we're losing (so far). What're we gaining?

It's the talk of the town (behind the Rangers looking better than they have any right to). Shawn Marion, called The Matrix for reasons that pass understanding, is coming to Dallas.

Paraphrasing Bugs Bunny; "I don't even know what a Matrix is. I'd better find out more about 'em."

Shawn Marion
Birthdate: May 7, 1978
Height/Weight: 6'7", 230 lbs
Position: Forward
Seasons in league: 10, first round draft pick (#9, Phoenix) in 1999
Career averages:
17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks, on an average of 37.6 minutes per game (regular season)
Assorted honors and stuff: 4-time All Star, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist
Notes: Marion's spent most of his career with the Phoenix Suns. By and large he thrived there, until he grew unhappy with his compensation and asked for a trade. He was one of the players that went to the Heat when the Suns traded for Shaq in 2008. The Heat traded him to Toronto at the trade deadline earlier this year for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. We got him in a four-team swap party that's over my head to analyze, quite frankly -- whatever, we got him.
In The Wash: Fast, tough, terrific offensive player, and somebody who can defend the league's best professional headaches. Can start as a small forward, back up Dirk as a power forward, or play power forward while Dirk plays center. In the basketball sense I like the move. However, a happy locker room is essential to this team's success. And Marion's got a history of whining if he doesn't feel appreciated.

Marcin Gortat's offer sheet has been signed, and Orlando has one week to match. Latest update from the Morning News says the big guy is hearing they might, which would throw a very large monkeywrench into the Mavs machine.
-BJ

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Give My Regards To Lake Huron

The beast is beginning its metamorphisis. I'll address acquisitions later; Jerry Stackhouse is going to Memphis, and Antoine Wright and Devean George are going to Toronto.

Fare well gentlemen. And we thank you.
-BJ

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

We've Gone Through The Rehersal Dinner . . .

Nothing's final until Wendsday. According to the league, nothing goes on paper until July 8. Marriages aren't final until the preacher says I pronounce you, divorces aren't final until the judge signs the decree, and contracts aren't final until they're signed and witnessed.

So for now, it's understood that Jason Kidd has accepted the Organization's offer of a three-year contract, all three years guaranteed.

Phew! It can be argued that the intangibles we gain by having Kidd on the team do not compensate for the tangibles we lose . . . but who would we get as a replacement? Nash's unfeasible, Chris Paul's not going anywhere, Magic's out of conditioning, and Marovich is dead.

And what about the big Pole? Well first of all, the dirty joke was not (entirely) delibrate. Secondly, according to the numbers, he's an upgrade over Dampier, considerably younger, and quite a bit cheaper. I like him already.

Dampier's situation next season's going to be worth keeping track of. The concept of "contract year phenomenon" might've been coined with him in mind, and his is up next year. So, knowing that he is probably going to be more valuable gone than here, does he play his brains out to prove his worth and thus get a new contract, or does he go from being a guy who vanishes at bad times to a flat-out liability?
-BJ

Thursday, July 2, 2009

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!

That's an exact quote.

Crazy Pills his ownself, Ron Artest, says he's going to LA . . . and it's not to go to Disneyland. According to him, he's going to talk to the Lakers about a deal.

I'm evil for hoping he goes postal next season if this happens, aren't I?
-BJ

Personnel Schtick

Avery Johnson coaching in Detroit? Now that's funny.

Midnight Tuesday night (EST) kicked off free agency. Now comes the fun part, if you're really into financial hypermathematics and lots of rumor sifting.

The latter, sure. The former, not so much. So let's go rumor-diving.

- The Boss was in New York Tuesday night. Camped out on Jason Kidd's front doorstep, one hopes. Resigning Kidd is Prime Cause No. 1 this offseason. Everything depends on which way he jumps. If he's of the purely mercenary persuasion, Dallas has the edge. If his ambitions lie in other directions, we have a problem. (Update: New York's talking a multi-year deal; no concrete offers have been made.)

- Oh, the problem of the Bass. He's free now, the league knows he's a big tough guy who can give you solid minutes. Looking at the characteristics of the classic power forward, he suits all the way down. We can offer him up to the mid-level exception amount and still have the exception itself to work with. Is that going to be enough? Word around the campfire is he wasn't thrilled with being a sometime bench guy the way he was this past season.

- Rasheed Wallace as a Mav? Tempting . . .

- There's been a major climate change in the Chicken Fried State -- Yao Ming's broken foot isn't healing. Rumor has it the MDs might insist he take a season off. The horrifying words "career ending" are floating around. Houston minus Ming and with a perpetually injured Tracy McGrady . . . suddenly Ron Artest is back in the bank. And the Mavs want.

- According to the Morning News, the Mavs have made an offer to Marcin Gortat. He played for Orlando last season, backing up Dwight Howard. In a game where Howard didn't play, Gortat managed 11 points and 15 boards. Assuming he's starter material this would fill any Dampier-shaped holes left by a trade. However, the Magic have the opportunity to match the offer and Howard's gotta sit down sometime. (UPDATE: Fisher says he's onto something interesting there, involving multiteam swaps, getting Gortat, and keeping the MLE. Something to keep an eye on.)

That's all the news I got right this second. I'll check back later. Happy 4th and have a good weekend.
-BJ