Always enjoy the comedy of the NHL draft. Let’s recap it, live blog, stream-of-conscious, Simmons draft diary style…
Versus is on the air with the NHL draft, stealing the TSN Canada feed instead of sending their own broadcast team. Really? They’re too cheap to send out their own crew? This is the American television carrier of the NHL?
On the bright side, Versus decision to just beam us the TSN feed allows us the opportunity to not hear the nonsense that comes out from Brian Engblom and Keith Jones, although the draft does seem to miss Engblom’s mullet.
The draft is at the Staples Center in LA. What do you think is a bigger deal to the Staples people, hosting Game 7 of the NBA Finals last Thursday or the NHL draft eight days later? Yeah, I thought so.
Thoroughly enjoyed the interview with top picks Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin. The two hit the town last night and saw Jennifer Love Hewitt. They admitted she was looking good.
One of the best things about the NBA draft is the personality the players show when interviewed, their flamboyant outfits (like Urkel last night) and their natural ability to communicate. The NHL draft is the same way, only the exact opposite. These kids have no personality, no style, nothing. They looked terrified during their interviews. And this fear, in contrast to the NBA draft, is one of the best things about the NHL draft.
Gary Bettman takes to the podium and gets booed. Loudly. Most despised commissioner in sports. Even people in LA who have never heard of him despise him.
Bettman rambles on about how great this draft is for California. He seems to have lost his voice. I have images of him partying at STK last night, doing body shots off waitresses and waking up next to Lindsay Lohan. This could have happened, right?
Oilers GM Steve Tambellini comes up to the podium and pretends people in LA care about hockey. He then does everything possible to delay the drama: Hall or Seguin. Finally, he selects Hall as Edmontonians throughout Canada rejoice. He’s their next Gretzky, which means he could be traded to the Kings in 10 years.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie compares Hall to Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson. No pressure there, kid.
Seguin pretends to be happy for Hall, whom he claims is his friend. Let’s hope these two have an Ovechkin-Crosby type rivalry where Ovechkin is clearly the antagonist.
A woman in the Hall entourage (could be a sister, could be a crazy aunt, could be a stripper he met at Crazy Girls last night) is wearing a black leather outfit that reveals way too much cleavage for someone as large as she is.
Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton is sold out and rocking to celebrate a draft. Clearly, there isn’t much to do in Edmonton on a Friday night.
Versus/TSN cuts to Toronto GM Brian Burke who idiotically traded away this pick last year for Phil Kessel. Apparently he didn’t realize that a crummy roster would likely result in a lousy season and a high draft pick.
As Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announces the pick of Seguin, team owner Jeremy Jacobs starts initiating trade talks for three years from now when Seguin is up for a new contract.
Love how TSN breaks out the home movies to show highlights of the prospects. That always kills me.
Bettman smiles as Seguin walks to the podium. He’s probably thinking to himself, “this is the last time this guy is going to be happy to see me,” and is probably proud of it. One of my favorite subplots of the Stanley Cup presentation each year is how the winning captain holds back his emotion and excitement when he has to go up to Bettman to get the Cup.
TSN interviews Seguin and Chiarelli together, just as they did Hall and Tambellini. Apparently the general managers become the player’s father upon drafting him.
Interviewer James Duthie reveals that Seguin and his father got matching tattoos. Maybe there’s hope for the NHL prospects after all.
Panthers GM Dale Tallon gets ready to announce their pick. This is the same guy who the Blackhawks fired as GM just before the season started and they won the Cup. Will he make mention of this? Sadly, he doesn’t. On the bright side, Tallon doesn’t go through the usual show of thanking LA, thanking the commissioner and saying hello to the fans watching back in Florida (probably because he knows there are no fans in Florida). Florida takes Erik Gudbranson which is a name you would never see in any of the other sports.
Upon reaching the podium, Gudbranson tells Tallon “I didn’t know Florida still had a team.”
Gudbranson reveals that Florida is the right fit for him. You mean a teenager who has lived in Canada his whole life is excited about going to South Beach? Shocking! Who cares if the team hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade?
The announcer declares that this is the 10th time in their 11-year history that Columbus has picked in the top 10. Donald Sterling smiles as he watches his protégé franchise at work.
Watching this draft makes me appreciate all of the excess ESPN uses during their draft coverage of the NFL and NBA.
Suddenly there is a delay on the floor as the Jackets get ready to make their pick. Did they lose their draft card?
Columbus selects Ryan Johansen, not to be confused with Calle Johansson. Pierre McGuire tells us that this is “excellent, excellent news” for the franchise. “This kid is really good!” I should hope so—he is the fourth overall pick, after all.
Johansen is sporting a done-up hairdo that makes me think he just now started using hair product. “But Mom, we’re going to LA, all the stars use hair gel!” In a weird way, Johansen reminds me of a 20-year-old Corey Haim who I think told his mother the same thing 25 years ago.
Johansen is definitely the youngest looking of the first four picks. He looks like he would be afraid of a razor.
Alyssa Milano makes her way to the TSN desk and Duthie looks like a 14-year-old boy talking to a cute girl for the first time. Amazingly, Milano doesn’t promote her Touch clothing line but does pretend to care about hockey.
Kevin Connolly from Entourage is on the stage. Bob McKenzie spots it, Pierre McGuire has no clue who he’s talking about.
Islanders GM Garth Snow makes the latest selection in a long line of failed draft picks on the Island, Nino Niederreiter. Yes, that’s really his name. No, really. Says McGuire: “He may be from Switzerland but he doesn’t have holes in him like Swiss cheese and he isn’t soft like melting chocolate.” Okay then.
TSN puts up a graphic showing that Nino is the highest drafted Swiss player ever. The previous highly drafted Swiss players on the graphic all have had distinctly undistinguished careers. Islanders fans respond by putting in their DVDs of the early 1980s.
Steve Yzerman gets ready to make his first pick as GM of the Lightning and rumor has it they want injury-prone Brett Connolly. Rumor is he had an MRI on his hip but refused to give it to teams. McKenzie corrects the rest of the desk and says the true story is that teams wanted him to take an MRI but he refused. Sounds like just the guy to take in the top 10 of the draft.
Yzerman sounds terrified. I would be too if I were him—I just selected Connolly with the sixth overall pick. In his home movie highlights, there are no fans in the stands.
McKenzie reports that there isn’t much structure to Connolly’s right hand because he crushed it in a steel gate when he was a kid. The Lightning are now banking on a guy with chronic hip injuries and a damaged hand to help carry them to the promised land. I have to say, this isn’t looking like a good start to Yzerman’s GM career.
Yzerman is being interviewed right now and looks like he just got cold-cocked by Claude Lemieux. Could a black eye from a ’97 Wings-Avalanche brawl have not healed yet?
TSN profiles prospect Jeff Skinner by telling us about his figure skating career and showing home movies of him doing double axels. Fans of every team immediately start rooting for their team to take someone else.
The TSN announcers break down the top six picks by nationality and beams when declaring that no American has been picked yet. Gotta love Canadians proud.
The Hurricanes take Skinner! Too many jokes…too many jokes…
How soon until someone creates one of those crazy Johnny Weir outfits and puts a Hurricanes logo on it with Skinner’s name on the back?
McGuire praises the pick by saying “Anytime you draft someone from the Kitchener Rangers, you know he has strong fundamentals.” I guess that’s settled. McKenzie is positively giddy about the accomplishments of Skinner’s brothers and sisters.
TSN cuts to Cam Fowler sitting in the crowd, looking like he needs to drop a deuce but is unable to. TSN had him ranked No. 4 on their board but now wonder if he’ll fall out of the top 10. Brandon Gormley is also falling, much to the dismay of McGuire.
Atlanta GM Rick Dudley has a goatee, a bald spot and a comb-over. Definitely the appropriate look for an NHL GM. The Thrashers take Alexander Burmistrov, who has a legitimately hot woman in his party. My guess is he met her last night when he went to the Saddle Ranch.
McKenzie tells us Burmistrov has a real “zest for life.” So maybe he really did meet that girl at the Saddle Ranch last night. The Russian players always have more personality than the Canadians do.
This draft is moving way too slow for my tastes.
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher looks like he let his kids cut his hair. Minnesota selects Mikael Granlund from Finland who looks a little like Zack Morris. Why isn’t Kelly Kapowski part of his entourage? McKenzie tells us he has to play in Finland for another year so Minnesota makes a pick that won’t help them at all this year or develop a North American game this year.
Rangers GM Glen Sather looks like a washed up Vegas lounge act. Which, come to think of it, is sort of what he is at this point. The Blueshirts take Dylan McIlrath who is nicknamed the “Undertaker” and “is a whole lot of fury and a whole lot of anger and a whole lot of mean” according to McGuire. A graphic shows he got into 19 fights last year, three times more than anyone else in his league. This is definitely my favorite pick of the draft.
Beau Bennett, a prospect from California, tells us that most of his friends don’t know what hockey is. Probably would be wise to not hold the draft in LA anymore.
The Stars take Jack Campbell, the first U.S. born player in the draft and the first goalie selected. In his photo, Campbell has the most acne I’ve seen since I was in high school and everyone had it. McGuire kills the pick because the team just signed another goalie, Kari Lehtonen, to a long-term deal. Channeling his inner Mel Kiper Jr. The NBA draft lacked such a character last night.
With the Ducks on the clock, the fans in LA boo. There’s a Kings-Ducks rivalry? Who knew? Both McKenzie and McGuire assume one of the falling defensemen, Gormley or Fowler, has to go here since they traded away Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer just retired. “They need defense!” McGuire says emphatically.
The booing fans make the announcers long for a Kings-Ducks series. Probably won’t create quite the same local vitriol as Lakers-Celtics.
The Ducks take Cam Fowler, who McGuire says will be “a difference maker” and a “winner” although not as good as Pronger or Niedermayer. McGuire says he could be the next Francois Beauchemin though. Oh. That leaves Gormley as the one sliding defenseman.
Fowler says “they’re definitely going to get 100 percent out of me so I’m excited.” He looks like he’s excited to hit the Sunset Strip tonight.
The Coyotes are on the clock. Shouldn’t Bettman just announce the pick? He’s the only person left who believes the move from Winnipeg to Phoenix was a good idea as proven by their being no buyer for a team the NHL had to take over.
Phoenix picks Gormley as instructed by Bettman. Keith Gretzky announces the pick, probably his consolation prize for being Wayne’s brother. McKenzie and McGuire both approve.
McKenzie tells us that Gormley’s father is a fisherman, just like Brad Richards’ father. Why he felt we needed to know this is beyond me.
With the Blues on the clock, John Davidson makes his way up to the podium. He looks like he’s aged about 40 years since leaving the TV booth. He has to be regretting that career move. St. Louis takes Jaden Schwartz. Apparently this is a fitting pick because he’s buddies with Gormley.
McKenzie tells us that the Blues went “off the board a little bit” to take Schwartz. This analysis is the NHL draft equivalent of Mel Kiper Jr. ripping the Colts for taking Trev Alberts in 1994.
Schwartz’s sister has cancer and apparently needs a bone-marrow transplant to live. That puts a damper on the whole evening. That sounds like my cue to wrap this up.
June 25, 2010
Enough already
The production house of "Knight and Day" seem to have struck some sort of deal with DirecTV where its commercial runs repeatedly on ESPN. During the NBA draft last night, the commercial ran seemingly twice per commercial break and its on during all of the World Cup commercial breaks.
And not different commercials either. The same one every time, the one with the Us Weekly rave about it, talking about Tom Cruise being at his "Jerry Maguire best!" It also includes Cruise and Cameron Diaz rolling on the beach, giving us all a quick look at Diaz's cellulite. Clearly, the editors didn't do their jobs on that shot.
Anyway, I hope the "Knight and Day" people realize that by flooding me with commercials for this movie, it reduces my chances of seeing it from "almost none" (I'm not one to support the actor that ruined Katie Holmes for all of us) to "none." That commercial has guaranteed I won't see it in theaters, won't rent it from Blockbuster, won't order it on NetFlix and won't watch it on cable. So good job, guys.
And not different commercials either. The same one every time, the one with the Us Weekly rave about it, talking about Tom Cruise being at his "Jerry Maguire best!" It also includes Cruise and Cameron Diaz rolling on the beach, giving us all a quick look at Diaz's cellulite. Clearly, the editors didn't do their jobs on that shot.
Anyway, I hope the "Knight and Day" people realize that by flooding me with commercials for this movie, it reduces my chances of seeing it from "almost none" (I'm not one to support the actor that ruined Katie Holmes for all of us) to "none." That commercial has guaranteed I won't see it in theaters, won't rent it from Blockbuster, won't order it on NetFlix and won't watch it on cable. So good job, guys.
Summer of Scheyer
For the Knicks, Heat, Nets, Cavs and Bulls, this is the "Summer of LeBron." For the Jazz, Pacers and Timberwolves, I'm calling it "The Summer of Scheyer."
The Duke two-guard went undrafted last night and I'm calling the Jazz and the Pacers as the favorites to land him. Both franchises have shown a consistent need to have white players on the team. The Jazz are the last team to make the NBA Finals with three white starters (Stockton, Hornacek and Ostertag in '98) and the Pacers seem to always have an abundance of white players on the roster (Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Josh McRoberts, Jeff Foster and Tyler Hansbrough on last season's team).
In past seasons, the Celtics would also be in the running. After all, this is a franchise who once posted a 65-win season with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge starting while Bill Walton, Jerry Sichting and Scott Wedman played key roles off the bench. But it seems to me that Boston embraced the end of the white star era when they went all out in 2008. Now their only white player is Brian Scalabrine, who only infrequently even dresses for the game.
I think the wild card in the hunt is the Timberwolves. Any franchise that has used top-six draft picks on Christian Laettner, Wally Szczerbiak and Kevin Love, and also signed both Mark Madsen and Fred Hoiberg in the same offseason, has to be a contender in the Scheyer sweepstakes.
Elin's taking Tiger to the cleaners
Tiger Woods won't talk about the state of his marriage to Elin but it has been speculated for a while now that divorce is in the works. Well, it's reportedly almost settled. And in it, Elin is reportedly taking most everything Tiger owns. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that she will get $750,000,000.
That's right, $750 million.
In addition, Elin will get their soon-to-be-completed $80 million mansion in Jupiter, Fla. In addition, Tiger will not be able to introduce their children to any woman he is not married to (so I guess Sam won't be getting makeup tips and dance lessons from pole dancers when she becomes a teenager). Elin does forfeit the right to detail her relationship with Tiger and the last few months of their marriage in any interviews or in a tell-all book so Tiger's got that going for him.
So for her husband cheating on her with a cavalcade of bimbos, waitresses, strippers, porn stars and escorts, plus public humiliation when these affairs were revealed to the world, Elin gains $750 million. That's probably much more than she expected to be worth when she began her career as a nanny in Sweden all those years ago.
That's right, $750 million.
In addition, Elin will get their soon-to-be-completed $80 million mansion in Jupiter, Fla. In addition, Tiger will not be able to introduce their children to any woman he is not married to (so I guess Sam won't be getting makeup tips and dance lessons from pole dancers when she becomes a teenager). Elin does forfeit the right to detail her relationship with Tiger and the last few months of their marriage in any interviews or in a tell-all book so Tiger's got that going for him.
So for her husband cheating on her with a cavalcade of bimbos, waitresses, strippers, porn stars and escorts, plus public humiliation when these affairs were revealed to the world, Elin gains $750 million. That's probably much more than she expected to be worth when she began her career as a nanny in Sweden all those years ago.
June 24, 2010
Most entertaining team of the draft? Clippers, for sure
Thoroughly enjoyed the Clippers draft. First, they used their lottery pick on Steve Urkel (a.ka. Al-Farouq Aminu, pictured with a mortified David Stern) and then they traded a future first round pick to OKC for the draft rights to Eric Bledsoe. So some year in the not-too-distant future, Kevin Durant will be welcoming a lottery pick to a stacked elite contender in the West while the Clippers sit on the sideline with a 26-win team and $31 million in cap space no free agent wants to take. God love the Sterlings!
Bulls give away assets, gain cap space
Kirk Hinrich is a nice point guard, right? So good, in fact, that the Bulls are giving him away. They're also giving away the 17th pick in tonight's draft. Both are going to the Wizards. In return, the Bulls are getting nothing.
Ah, the posturing continues. By not having to pay Hinrich or the salary of the 17th overall pick, the Bulls now free up more than $9 million in salary cap space, which now puts them over $30 million under the cap. That gives them enough money to sign two max-level free agents while still having Luol Deng out there as a possible sign-and-trade candidate. The Bulls have drafted a lot of good players since 1999 (although no one great, unless Derrick Rose turns into that) and now the rebuilding plan Jerry Krause set out on after running out Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen might finally be coming to fruition by having enough of those guys to move around in sign-and-trades and to fit in around, say, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
The Bulls could realistically have a front line of LeBron, Bosh and Joakim Noah with Rose and, gosh, who knows (Ray Allen or Raja Bell at the veteran's exception?) in the backcourt. Off the bench they'll have, well, Flip Murray and whatever veterans LeBron can convince to come in for the minimum (Rafer Alston? Steve Blake? Roger Mason? Quentin Richardson? Eddie House? Kurt Thomas?)
(By the way, this deal could still fall apart since it cannot officially happen until July 8 but it also sounds like Sacramento is ready to make this deal if Washington changes its mind.)
It all sounds good. Of course, the Bulls fail to sign LeBron, all of this blows up in Chicago's face.
Given what Rose has shown in his first two seasons, getting rid of Hinrich makes sense. No team needs a $9 million backup point guard, which is what Hinrich is (although he started most of the season as a two-guard). He should be a nice mentor to John Wall as the Wizards point guard.
Ah, the posturing continues. By not having to pay Hinrich or the salary of the 17th overall pick, the Bulls now free up more than $9 million in salary cap space, which now puts them over $30 million under the cap. That gives them enough money to sign two max-level free agents while still having Luol Deng out there as a possible sign-and-trade candidate. The Bulls have drafted a lot of good players since 1999 (although no one great, unless Derrick Rose turns into that) and now the rebuilding plan Jerry Krause set out on after running out Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen might finally be coming to fruition by having enough of those guys to move around in sign-and-trades and to fit in around, say, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
The Bulls could realistically have a front line of LeBron, Bosh and Joakim Noah with Rose and, gosh, who knows (Ray Allen or Raja Bell at the veteran's exception?) in the backcourt. Off the bench they'll have, well, Flip Murray and whatever veterans LeBron can convince to come in for the minimum (Rafer Alston? Steve Blake? Roger Mason? Quentin Richardson? Eddie House? Kurt Thomas?)
(By the way, this deal could still fall apart since it cannot officially happen until July 8 but it also sounds like Sacramento is ready to make this deal if Washington changes its mind.)
It all sounds good. Of course, the Bulls fail to sign LeBron, all of this blows up in Chicago's face.
Given what Rose has shown in his first two seasons, getting rid of Hinrich makes sense. No team needs a $9 million backup point guard, which is what Hinrich is (although he started most of the season as a two-guard). He should be a nice mentor to John Wall as the Wizards point guard.
IT'S OVER!
At long last, it's over. The longest match in the history of tennis has finally concluded after 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days with John Isner beating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set.
After the match, the Wimbledon people held a ceremony as though this was a final where they honored both participants and the chair umpire. While Isner no doubt enjoyed the accolades, Mahut understandably looked like a guy who wanted out of there immediately. As a reminder, this was a first round match.
Isner will now face Thiemo de Bakker, the 49th ranked player in the world. While it no doubt would be fun if Isner now made a bit of a run after winning this match, methinks he goes down to the Dutchman tomorrow.
After the match, the Wimbledon people held a ceremony as though this was a final where they honored both participants and the chair umpire. While Isner no doubt enjoyed the accolades, Mahut understandably looked like a guy who wanted out of there immediately. As a reminder, this was a first round match.
Isner will now face Thiemo de Bakker, the 49th ranked player in the world. While it no doubt would be fun if Isner now made a bit of a run after winning this match, methinks he goes down to the Dutchman tomorrow.
NBA mock draft
The NBA draft is one of the great sports television nights of the year so you know I'll be tuned in. Here are my predictions for the first round. Remember, this is what I think will happen, not what I think should (necessarily).
1. Washington Wizards: John Wall, PG, Kentucky
How do you think Gilbert Arenas handles being told that he no longer will always have the ball in his hands? Does he aim for another season-long suspension?
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, SF, Kentucky
Let's hope Doug Collins does a better job developing Turner than he did Kwame Brown.
3. New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech
Then again, maybe Mikhail Prokhorov really thinks he's getting Bosh and LeBron, in which case I guess he could trade Favors.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Wes Johnson, SF, Syracuse
You have no idea how much I want them to take another point guard though. Can't they work out a trade down to get Eric Bledsoe?
5. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, PF, Kentucky
Best wishes to Paul Westphal, who under this scenario will have to coach both the knucklehead Cousins and the borderline uncoachable Tyreke Evans. On the bright side, the Kings would then be interesting for the first time since the C-Webb/Peja/Bibby/Divac/Christie/Christie's wife years.
6. Golden State Warriors: Epke Udoh, PF, Baylor
Has Baylor ever had a player taken in the lottery? This has to be a first, right?
7. Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe, C, Georgetown
Anytime you can take a center in the lottery who got dominated in the NCAA Tournament, you have to do it. Are we sure Joe Dumars is still alive? I don't think he's made a good move since the 2004 Rasheed trade and that came on the heels of draft Darko instead of the Carmelo/Bosh/Wade trio.
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF, Wake Forest
Chris Broussard of ESPN.com is reporting talk of a possible trade of this pick to the Bulls for Luol Deng and the 17th pick, which would officially take the Clippers out of the LeBron sweepstakes while better positioning the Bulls for two max players in free agency. While I would love for that to happen, I would be disappointed of the prospect of hearing after the fact stories from Mark Heisler of the Clippers courtship of LeBron. "Sterling was ready to make his move but when he spoke to Worldwide Wes, he immediately got confused and hired Mike Dunleavy instead."
9. Utah Jazz: Ed Davis, PF, North Carolina
The heir apparent to Carlos Boozer, only much worse.
10. Indiana Pacers: Gordon Hayward, SF, Butler
Disappointed he's not going back to Butler for another year. I was really excited about the Bulldogs being a possible preseason No. 1 (or No. 2 since Duke is probably going to be No. 1). Anyway, the Pacers hate to pass on white guys although there's talk of them trading down this pick to OKC.
11. New Orleans Hornets: Xavier Henry, SG, Kansas
If high schoolers were still eligible, how long would Henry have lasted in the 2009 draft? Third? Fourth? This year he'll be lucky to crack the lottery. By the way, I'm very intrigued by the idea of the Hornets somehow trading Chris Paul off to a team that's not owned by a clown like George Shinn (teaming with LeBron or Wade?) but I don't see it happening.
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Patrick Patterson, PF, Kentucky
It's not out of the question for Chris Wallace to offer up this pick, O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley to the Knicks for Eddy Curry to save this Knicks $2.5 million in cap space make it even easier for them to get LeBron and his buddies. If we've learned anything over the past decade with the Vin Baker and Pau Gasol trades, it's not to put anything past Chris Wallace.
13. Toronto Raptors: Avery Bradley, SG, Texas
It hasn't been a good couple of years for Bryan Colangelo and now he has to spend the offseason hoping for a quality sign-and-trade for Chris Bosh and that he can find a taker for Hedo Turkoglu's hideous contract. Good luck.
14. Houston Rockets: Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas
Someone has to play center when Yao Ming suffers his inevitable season-ending injury next season.
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Sanders, PF, Virginia Commonwealth
Adding size as they try to continue their momentum from last season.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves: Paul George, SF, Fresno State
Anytime you can draft a player who couldn't carry his team to the Tournament and couldn't crack first team All-WAC in the first round, you have to do it.
17. Chicago Bulls: Jordan Crawford, SG, Xavier
Assuming the Bulls keep this pick, they need shooters for Derrick Rose (and LeBron when he signs in a couple weeks) to hit in transition and off their penetration. Done and done. Now we just need the Bulls to hire Gus Johnson as their play-by-play guy so we can recapture the Gus/Crawford combo from the awesome Xavier-Kansas State NCAA Tournament game.
18. Oklahoma City Thunder: Solomon Alabi, C, Florida State
This pick is going to OKC in a deal made with Miami yesterday. OKC now has the 18th, 21st and 26th picks to offer to move into the top 10, if anyone in the top 10 is willing to make such a move. I'm saying they stay here and take Alabi. Sam Presti knows he needs some size and some bangers to protect Durant, Green and Westbrook.
19. Boston Celtics: Eric Bledsoe, PG, Kentucky
Speculation is the Celtics are going to try and get rid of this pick because Danny Ainge isn't enamored with any of the prospects here. Andy Katz of ESPN.com reports that they are considering offers from Memphis and New Jersey for this pick. If Boston keeps it, Bledsoe makes sense for them because they can't really rely on Krypto-Nate to backup Rondo.
20. San Antonio Spurs: Craig Brackins, PF, Iowa State
The Spurs run was fun while it lasted but now they're the equivalent of, say, the 1990 Celtics: just good enough to maybe win an opening round and not much else. Would love for them to find a way to squeeze one more title out of Tim Duncan though. Maybe they could try to package Tony Parker to the Hornets for Chris Paul.
21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Luke Babbitt, SF, Nevada
Still think OKC trades a couple of these picks to move up.
22. Portland Trail Blazers: Kevin Seraphin, C, France
And our first international player goes! With the events surrounding Kevin Pritchard right now, I'm prepared for anything. Paul Allen trading Brandon Roy for the No. 1 overall pick? Sure! You name it, it's on the table.
23. Minnesota Timberwolves: Dominique Jones, SG, South Florida
Which teams from here on out will find guys who can contribute in the NBA within three years? Probably not Minnesota.
24. Atlanta Hawks: Hassan Whiteside, C, Marshall
Shot-blocker and not much else but at least it is a discernible skill.
25. Memphis Grizzlies: Daniel Orton, C, Kentucky
Another Calipari guy comes to Memphis.
26. Oklahoma City Thunder: Damion James, SF, Texas
Yet again, I don't think this pick will be made by OKC.
27. New Jersey Nets: Tibor Pleiss, C, Germany
We're at the point of the first round where European big men we've never heard of start to go. Plus, Prokhorov seems like a good bet to take a European player at some point.
28. Memphis Grizzlies: James Anderson, SG, Oklahoma State
Lakers fans can sit back and watch this pick knowing that its trade to Memphis helped them get Pau Gaosl.
29. Orlando Magic: Quincy Pondexter, SF, Washington
I can assure you it won't be a big man after the money they blew on Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass last offseason.
30. Washington Wizards: Dexter Pittman, C, Texas
That's right, two Longhorns in the first round even after they underachieved so spectacularly in the last two months of last season.
1. Washington Wizards: John Wall, PG, Kentucky
How do you think Gilbert Arenas handles being told that he no longer will always have the ball in his hands? Does he aim for another season-long suspension?
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, SF, Kentucky
Let's hope Doug Collins does a better job developing Turner than he did Kwame Brown.
3. New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech
Then again, maybe Mikhail Prokhorov really thinks he's getting Bosh and LeBron, in which case I guess he could trade Favors.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Wes Johnson, SF, Syracuse
You have no idea how much I want them to take another point guard though. Can't they work out a trade down to get Eric Bledsoe?
5. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, PF, Kentucky
Best wishes to Paul Westphal, who under this scenario will have to coach both the knucklehead Cousins and the borderline uncoachable Tyreke Evans. On the bright side, the Kings would then be interesting for the first time since the C-Webb/Peja/Bibby/Divac/Christie/Christie's wife years.
6. Golden State Warriors: Epke Udoh, PF, Baylor
Has Baylor ever had a player taken in the lottery? This has to be a first, right?
7. Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe, C, Georgetown
Anytime you can take a center in the lottery who got dominated in the NCAA Tournament, you have to do it. Are we sure Joe Dumars is still alive? I don't think he's made a good move since the 2004 Rasheed trade and that came on the heels of draft Darko instead of the Carmelo/Bosh/Wade trio.
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF, Wake Forest
Chris Broussard of ESPN.com is reporting talk of a possible trade of this pick to the Bulls for Luol Deng and the 17th pick, which would officially take the Clippers out of the LeBron sweepstakes while better positioning the Bulls for two max players in free agency. While I would love for that to happen, I would be disappointed of the prospect of hearing after the fact stories from Mark Heisler of the Clippers courtship of LeBron. "Sterling was ready to make his move but when he spoke to Worldwide Wes, he immediately got confused and hired Mike Dunleavy instead."
9. Utah Jazz: Ed Davis, PF, North Carolina
The heir apparent to Carlos Boozer, only much worse.
10. Indiana Pacers: Gordon Hayward, SF, Butler
Disappointed he's not going back to Butler for another year. I was really excited about the Bulldogs being a possible preseason No. 1 (or No. 2 since Duke is probably going to be No. 1). Anyway, the Pacers hate to pass on white guys although there's talk of them trading down this pick to OKC.
11. New Orleans Hornets: Xavier Henry, SG, Kansas
If high schoolers were still eligible, how long would Henry have lasted in the 2009 draft? Third? Fourth? This year he'll be lucky to crack the lottery. By the way, I'm very intrigued by the idea of the Hornets somehow trading Chris Paul off to a team that's not owned by a clown like George Shinn (teaming with LeBron or Wade?) but I don't see it happening.
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Patrick Patterson, PF, Kentucky
It's not out of the question for Chris Wallace to offer up this pick, O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley to the Knicks for Eddy Curry to save this Knicks $2.5 million in cap space make it even easier for them to get LeBron and his buddies. If we've learned anything over the past decade with the Vin Baker and Pau Gasol trades, it's not to put anything past Chris Wallace.
13. Toronto Raptors: Avery Bradley, SG, Texas
It hasn't been a good couple of years for Bryan Colangelo and now he has to spend the offseason hoping for a quality sign-and-trade for Chris Bosh and that he can find a taker for Hedo Turkoglu's hideous contract. Good luck.
14. Houston Rockets: Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas
Someone has to play center when Yao Ming suffers his inevitable season-ending injury next season.
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Sanders, PF, Virginia Commonwealth
Adding size as they try to continue their momentum from last season.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves: Paul George, SF, Fresno State
Anytime you can draft a player who couldn't carry his team to the Tournament and couldn't crack first team All-WAC in the first round, you have to do it.
17. Chicago Bulls: Jordan Crawford, SG, Xavier
Assuming the Bulls keep this pick, they need shooters for Derrick Rose (and LeBron when he signs in a couple weeks) to hit in transition and off their penetration. Done and done. Now we just need the Bulls to hire Gus Johnson as their play-by-play guy so we can recapture the Gus/Crawford combo from the awesome Xavier-Kansas State NCAA Tournament game.
18. Oklahoma City Thunder: Solomon Alabi, C, Florida State
This pick is going to OKC in a deal made with Miami yesterday. OKC now has the 18th, 21st and 26th picks to offer to move into the top 10, if anyone in the top 10 is willing to make such a move. I'm saying they stay here and take Alabi. Sam Presti knows he needs some size and some bangers to protect Durant, Green and Westbrook.
19. Boston Celtics: Eric Bledsoe, PG, Kentucky
Speculation is the Celtics are going to try and get rid of this pick because Danny Ainge isn't enamored with any of the prospects here. Andy Katz of ESPN.com reports that they are considering offers from Memphis and New Jersey for this pick. If Boston keeps it, Bledsoe makes sense for them because they can't really rely on Krypto-Nate to backup Rondo.
20. San Antonio Spurs: Craig Brackins, PF, Iowa State
The Spurs run was fun while it lasted but now they're the equivalent of, say, the 1990 Celtics: just good enough to maybe win an opening round and not much else. Would love for them to find a way to squeeze one more title out of Tim Duncan though. Maybe they could try to package Tony Parker to the Hornets for Chris Paul.
21. Oklahoma City Thunder: Luke Babbitt, SF, Nevada
Still think OKC trades a couple of these picks to move up.
22. Portland Trail Blazers: Kevin Seraphin, C, France
And our first international player goes! With the events surrounding Kevin Pritchard right now, I'm prepared for anything. Paul Allen trading Brandon Roy for the No. 1 overall pick? Sure! You name it, it's on the table.
23. Minnesota Timberwolves: Dominique Jones, SG, South Florida
Which teams from here on out will find guys who can contribute in the NBA within three years? Probably not Minnesota.
24. Atlanta Hawks: Hassan Whiteside, C, Marshall
Shot-blocker and not much else but at least it is a discernible skill.
25. Memphis Grizzlies: Daniel Orton, C, Kentucky
Another Calipari guy comes to Memphis.
26. Oklahoma City Thunder: Damion James, SF, Texas
Yet again, I don't think this pick will be made by OKC.
27. New Jersey Nets: Tibor Pleiss, C, Germany
We're at the point of the first round where European big men we've never heard of start to go. Plus, Prokhorov seems like a good bet to take a European player at some point.
28. Memphis Grizzlies: James Anderson, SG, Oklahoma State
Lakers fans can sit back and watch this pick knowing that its trade to Memphis helped them get Pau Gaosl.
29. Orlando Magic: Quincy Pondexter, SF, Washington
I can assure you it won't be a big man after the money they blew on Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass last offseason.
30. Washington Wizards: Dexter Pittman, C, Texas
That's right, two Longhorns in the first round even after they underachieved so spectacularly in the last two months of last season.
June 23, 2010
No dynasty in Chicago
Is the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup window already closing?
Hard to say at this point but if there is one problem with a hard salary cap it's that teams cannot stay together. Yes, the Blackhawks still have Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook but with an untenable cap situation, they have already begun the dismantling. Today, they traded Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta.
Byfuglien was only the game-changer for Chicago in the playoffs. His play turned around two series (the West Semifinal against Vancouver and the Stanley Cup Final against Philadelphia). After Toews, he was almost certainly their most valuable player during the playoff run. And now he goes to the Thrashers, a franchise that has made the playoffs only once in its history and never won even a single playoff game. America probably won't hear from Byfuglien for three or four years, when he finally moves on to a franchise that plays games in the spring.
Also going to Atlanta are Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and prospect Akim Aliu. Chicago gets the 24th and 54th picks in Friday night's draft, Marty Reasoner (who played poorly for Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville earlier in his career when both were with St. Louis) and prospect Jeremy Morin. The Blackhawks get to save just over $5 million in cap space with this deal, enabling them to try and re-sign goaltneder Antti Niemi and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, among other restricted free agents.
Given the way the NHL seems to work now, where hot goalies seem to be more important than good ones, I'm not so sure I wouldn't have just let Niemi go if I were Chicago and signed someone like Marty Biron to pair with Cristobal Huet in goal. But what do I know? It will be interesting to see how the Blackhawks forwards do next spring because this spring, Byfuglien was clearly the catalyst among that group.
Marlins fire manager for not winning with lowest payroll in MLB
The Marlins are perennially in the wild card chase even though they spend less money than any team in baseball (and even won the World Series in 2003). This got Joe Girardi fired after the 2006 season and he promptly won the World Series once he signed on to manage a team that spends money.
In 2008, in their second year under manager Fredi Gonzalez, the Marlins went 84-77. Last season, they went 87-75. This season, they are 34-36. Today, Gonzalez was fired.
In announcing the move, owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement: "We believe we can do better and be better. We owe it to our fans to put this team in the best possible position to win. Everyone knows how I feel about winning."
Loria wants to win but he certainly doesn't want to pay for a winning team. Since 2007, Gonzalez's first season as manager, the Marlins have ranked 29th, 30th, 30th and 26th in team payroll. And in Girardi's one season (when he was named NL Manager of the Year), they were 30th. I'm sure Loria wants a medal for raising payroll out of the lowest in all of baseball this season (of course, he only did it because the MLBPA complained that they weren't putting revenue-sharing money back into the team) and claims this shows his committment to winning but the fact of the matter is that Girardi and now Gonzalez have done an outstanding job of keeping the Marlins within striking distance of the postseason despite the challenges that come with having such a low payroll.
This isn't the Pirates, whose managers have repeatedly trotted out pathetic ballclubs despite the low payrolls (haven't had a winning season since 1992, to remind you). This is a Florida team whose managers haven't used the low payroll as a crutch and who have consistently turned young players into overachievers and had them in the wild card race into the last weekend of the season.
I fully understand that the Marlins are in a terrible financial situation that cannot improve until their new ballpark opens. However, for Loria to claim that these managers are failing to win enough for his tastes is dishonest at best and asinine at the most realistic of levels. All these managers can do is get these teams to overachieve and hope that eventually they will catch lightning in a bottle and go on a spirited playoff run (like they did in 2003). To expect anything else is unfair. No manager is going to succeed under these standards.
Anyway, Gonzalez should land on his feet. Already it is being speculated that he will replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta after the season. As for the Marlins, no one is more pleased than Hanley Ramirez who can now go about his business of loafing for interim manager Edwin Rodriguez.
In 2008, in their second year under manager Fredi Gonzalez, the Marlins went 84-77. Last season, they went 87-75. This season, they are 34-36. Today, Gonzalez was fired.
In announcing the move, owner Jeffrey Loria said in a statement: "We believe we can do better and be better. We owe it to our fans to put this team in the best possible position to win. Everyone knows how I feel about winning."
Loria wants to win but he certainly doesn't want to pay for a winning team. Since 2007, Gonzalez's first season as manager, the Marlins have ranked 29th, 30th, 30th and 26th in team payroll. And in Girardi's one season (when he was named NL Manager of the Year), they were 30th. I'm sure Loria wants a medal for raising payroll out of the lowest in all of baseball this season (of course, he only did it because the MLBPA complained that they weren't putting revenue-sharing money back into the team) and claims this shows his committment to winning but the fact of the matter is that Girardi and now Gonzalez have done an outstanding job of keeping the Marlins within striking distance of the postseason despite the challenges that come with having such a low payroll.
This isn't the Pirates, whose managers have repeatedly trotted out pathetic ballclubs despite the low payrolls (haven't had a winning season since 1992, to remind you). This is a Florida team whose managers haven't used the low payroll as a crutch and who have consistently turned young players into overachievers and had them in the wild card race into the last weekend of the season.
I fully understand that the Marlins are in a terrible financial situation that cannot improve until their new ballpark opens. However, for Loria to claim that these managers are failing to win enough for his tastes is dishonest at best and asinine at the most realistic of levels. All these managers can do is get these teams to overachieve and hope that eventually they will catch lightning in a bottle and go on a spirited playoff run (like they did in 2003). To expect anything else is unfair. No manager is going to succeed under these standards.
Anyway, Gonzalez should land on his feet. Already it is being speculated that he will replace Bobby Cox in Atlanta after the season. As for the Marlins, no one is more pleased than Hanley Ramirez who can now go about his business of loafing for interim manager Edwin Rodriguez.
Great NBA playoff moments: 2005-2010
2005 NBA Finals, Game 5: The Robert Horry Game
2006 West 1st Round, Game 4: Kobe buries the Suns, then imitates MJ
2006 West 1st Round, Game 4: Kobe buries the Suns, then imitates MJ
Will it ever end?
I wouldn't call it a great tennis match but the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut match is definitely an epic.
In case you somehow missed it, the first round Wimbledon match has turned into the longest in tennis history, by about five miles. It started yesterday, continued into today and will spill over into tomorrow. The fifth set is currently suspended until tomorrow with the score a ridiculous 59-59.
Consider that the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is considered by many the greatest match of all-time and Nadal won that fifth set by a 9-7 count. Or that last year's Federer-Andy Roddick final is considered by many to being fairly close to the Federer-Nadal match and Federer won that fifth set by a 16-14 score.
As of now, this match has gone one for a total of 10 hours of playing time. The fifth set alone has gone on for seven hours and six minutes, which alone would break the record for the longest match of all-time, a 2004 French Open match won by Fabrice Santoro over Arnaud Clement, that lasted six hours and 33 minutes.
Wimbledon began in 1877 and no match in its history had ever lasted more than 112 total games. The fifth set of this match has gone to 118 games on its own with no end in sight.
Isner has 98 aces to Mahut's 95. The previous one-match record? 78 by Ivo Karlovic. Neither, however, has managed to break serve in the fifth set. In fact, the match has been so mundane (in spite of its length) that, through 118 games in the fifth set, only four match points have been saved. Four. In 107 games since Isner went up 6-5 in the set.
Said the great Federer, who earlier today won his second-round match in four sets:
"I have almost no words anymore watching this. It's beyond anything I've ever seen and could imagine. I don't know how their bodies must feel the next day, the next week, the next month. This is incredible tennis. For them to serve the aces they served and stay there mentally is a heroic effort. As we know, we have no draws in tennis, so there will be a loser. But I guess in this match, both will be winners because this is just absolutely amazing."
(Would it be too much to ask for a Federer-Nadal final that goes this long?)
Great NBA playoff moments: 1995-1999
1995 East Semifinals, Game 1: Miller's back-to-back threes silences the Garden
1995 East Semifinals, Game 7: Ewing misses at the buzzer
1995 East Semifinals, Game 7: Ewing misses at the buzzer
Great NBA playoff moments: 1990-1994
1990 West Semifinals, Game 7: Strickland's blunder does in the Spurs
1990 West Finals, Game 6: Kersey's transition layup and the Portland D brings back Blazermania
1990 West Finals, Game 6: Kersey's transition layup and the Portland D brings back Blazermania
Great NBA playoff moments: 1986-1989
1986 East 1st Round, Game 2: MJ goes for 63
1986 West Finals, Game 5: Sampson at the buzzer wins the West for Houston
1986 West Finals, Game 5: Sampson at the buzzer wins the West for Houston
Great NBA playoff moments: 1980-1985
1980 NBA Finals, Game 5: Kareem scores 40 on torn ankle ligaments
1980 NBA Finals, Game 6: Magic's 42-15-7 playing center in place of an injured Kareem
1980 NBA Finals, Game 6: Magic's 42-15-7 playing center in place of an injured Kareem
Great NBA playoff moments: The 1940s-1970s
1949 NBA Finals, Game 6: Mikan overcomes broken hand to deliver Lakers first title
1950 NBA Finals, Game 1: Harrison's Heave
1950 NBA Finals, Game 1: Harrison's Heave
June 21, 2010
The four-timers club
Here is the list of all 35 players who have won at least four NBA championships.
29 of the 35 won at least one of their four championships with either the Lakers or Celtics, who have combined to win 33 championships. The six who managed to win four without winning one with one of those two franchises: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan and Will Perdue.
Only one of the nine players with at least seven rings was not a part of the Celtics dynasty of 1957-1969, when they won 11 championships. The one: Robert Horry.
11-Bill Russell (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
10-Sam Jones (Celtics: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
8-John Havlicek (Celtics: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976)
8-Tom Heinsohn (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965)
8-K.C. Jones (Celtics: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966)
8-Satch Sanders (Celtics: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
7-Robert Horry (Rockets: 1994, 1995; Lakers: 2000, 2001, 2002; Spurs: 2005, 2007)
7-Jim Loscutoff (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964)
7-Frank Ramsey (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964)
6-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Bucks: 1971; Lakers: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
6-Bob Cousy (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963)
6-Michael Jordan (Bulls: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
6-Scottie Pippen (Bulls: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)
5-Kobe Bryant (Lakers: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
5-Michael Cooper (Lakers: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
5-Derek Fisher (Lakers: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
5-Ron Harper (Bulls: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001)
5-Magic Johnson (Lakers: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
5-Steve Kerr (Bulls: 1996, 1997, 1998; Spurs: 1999, 2003)
5-Slater Martin (Lakers: 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954; Hawks: 1958)
5-Don Nelson (Celtics: 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976)
5-Dennis Rodman (Pistons: 1989, 1990; Bulls: 1996, 1997, 1998)
5-Larry Siegfried (Celtics: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969)
4-Tim Duncan (Spurs: 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)
4-Horace Grant (Bulls: 1991, 1992, 1993; Lakers: 2001)
4-George Mikan (Lakers: 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954)
4-Vern Mikkelsen (Lakers: 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954)
4-Shaquille O'Neal (Lakers: 2000, 2001, 2002; Heat: 2006)
4-Robert Parish (Celtics: 1981, 1984, 1986; Bulls: 1997)
4-Will Perdue (Bulls: 1991, 1992, 1993; Spurs: 1999)
4-Jim Pollard (Lakers: 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954)
4-Kurt Rambis (Lakers: 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
4-John Salley (Pistons: 1989, 1990; Bulls: 1996; Lakers: 2000)
4-Paul Saul (Royals: 1951; Lakers: 1952, 1953, 1954)
4-Bill Sharman (Celtics: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961)
June 20, 2010
Celtics trades that brought them championships
In the interest of fairness, I have followed up my earlier post about all of the Lakers highway robbery trades with one of all of the trades the Celtics ever made that landed them a player who contributed significantly to one of their 17 championships.
I'll let you judge them all but I only count one which was highway robbery at the time it was made (the Dennis Johnson acquisition), compared to the Lakers who had several such trades (most egregiously the Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Gasol deals). Boston did make numerous deals that worked out incredibly fortuitously, however (Archibald, Parish/McHale, Sharman and of course Russell) and they did take advantage of management friendships to strike a deal as well (Garnett, although they gave up quality assets to get him). If you ask me, the Celtics mostly made legitimate deals that worked out for them while the Lakers made deals that seemed ridiculous at the time they were made.
Anyway, you can see and judge for yourself after the jump.
I'll let you judge them all but I only count one which was highway robbery at the time it was made (the Dennis Johnson acquisition), compared to the Lakers who had several such trades (most egregiously the Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar and Gasol deals). Boston did make numerous deals that worked out incredibly fortuitously, however (Archibald, Parish/McHale, Sharman and of course Russell) and they did take advantage of management friendships to strike a deal as well (Garnett, although they gave up quality assets to get him). If you ask me, the Celtics mostly made legitimate deals that worked out for them while the Lakers made deals that seemed ridiculous at the time they were made.
Anyway, you can see and judge for yourself after the jump.
Remembering Carnoustie
In honor of Dustin Johnson's hideous collapse today at the U.S. Open (11-over 82 for the day after leading through three rounds), let's take a look back at Jean Van de Velde's legendary collapse at the 1999 U.S. Open:
Channeling Jean Van de Velde
And the U.S. Open is wide open.
Dustin Johnson entered the final round firmly in the lead but the first 13 holes have produced a Van de Velde-ian collapse as he was an incredible 9-over on those. So he's out. (Most likely.)
Also not up to the pressure is one Eldrick Woods. Fresh off a dominant 66 yesterday, Tiger hasn't been able to handle the pressure of flying banners overhead and is 4-over through 14. So he's out. (Most likely.) So much for yesterday marking the return of his dominance.
At the moment, the only person with an under-par score for the tournament is leader Graeme McDowell, who's composite score is 2-under through 13. The only person among the leaders under par for the day is Davis Love III, 1-under through 16. So it's a wide open finish.
Dustin Johnson entered the final round firmly in the lead but the first 13 holes have produced a Van de Velde-ian collapse as he was an incredible 9-over on those. So he's out. (Most likely.)
Also not up to the pressure is one Eldrick Woods. Fresh off a dominant 66 yesterday, Tiger hasn't been able to handle the pressure of flying banners overhead and is 4-over through 14. So he's out. (Most likely.) So much for yesterday marking the return of his dominance.
At the moment, the only person with an under-par score for the tournament is leader Graeme McDowell, who's composite score is 2-under through 13. The only person among the leaders under par for the day is Davis Love III, 1-under through 16. So it's a wide open finish.
Chris Bosh wants to be "the centerpiece"
For those wanting to add Chris Bosh to team him up with Dwyane Wade or LeBron James (or even Kobe Bryant, if the Lakers can convince the Raptors to a sign-and-trade involving the always injured Andrew Bynum), Bosh has this message for you:
"I'm not an addition. I'm a centerpiece."
It may be worth noting that in seven seasons as the "centerpiece" in Toronto, Bosh made the playoffs only twice, never won a playoff series and missed the playoffs the past two seasons. So consider yourself warned if you sign Bosh to be the face of your franchise.
"I'm not an addition. I'm a centerpiece."
It may be worth noting that in seven seasons as the "centerpiece" in Toronto, Bosh made the playoffs only twice, never won a playoff series and missed the playoffs the past two seasons. So consider yourself warned if you sign Bosh to be the face of your franchise.
How the Lakers became the NBA's glamour franchise: fortuitous trades
The Los Angeles Lakers just won their 16th NBA championship, second most in league history to the 17 won by the Boston Celtics. They have won 11 of those since moving to Los Angeles in 1960, the first coming in 1972. How did they do it? Well, certainly there was some astute player evaluation and smart drafting involved but, first and foremost, no franchise has been in position to take advantage of dumb luck more than the Lakers.
Without lucky trades, no team can win championships. The Celtics, after all, got Bill Russell, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish as the result of one-sided trades. But no team has made more lopsided trades to their benefit than the Lakers. Lopsided trades landed them Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob McAdoo and James Worthy. They landed them future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. They landed them elite role players Robert Horry, Happy Hairston and Byron Scott.
Below is a list of the lopsided deals the Lakers have constructed to build their 40-year dominance of the NBA and it doesn't even include signing Shaquille O'Neal as a free agent.
July 9, 1968
Lakers: C Wilt Chamberlain
Sixers: F Jerry Chambers, G Archie Clark, C Darrall Imhoff
Resulting Lakers championships: 1972
Why the Sixers made this deal is in some dispute. According to Dr. Jack Ramsay, the Sixers general manager at the time, Wilt threatened to bolt for the ABA after coach Alex Hannum left Philadelphia. However it has also been stated that Chamberlain wanted to go to LA because he felt he had become too big for Philadelphia, wanted to hang out with celebrities and wanted to date and have sex with white women (20,000 of them!) which was considered taboo in 1960s America, except in LA. Chamberlain became the first reigning MVP ever traded in the following offseason and the Sixers received three players that accomplished nothing in the NBA, although Jerry Chambers was a Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1966. So he has that going for him.
This was the second time in his career that Chamberlain had been traded for a crappy return. After moving to San Francisco, the Warriors traded Wilt to the Sixers for Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking and Lee Shaffer in 1965. The financially-strapped Warriors also received $150,000. Part of the impetus for this trade, according to Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli, was that the fans of San Francisco hated Wilt.
November 27, 1969
Lakers: F Happy Hairston
Pistons: F Bill Hewitt, 1970 3rd round pick (Jim Hayes)
Resulting Lakers championships: 1972
Hairston had been an excellent player for years with the Royals and Pistons before coming to the Lakers. Hewitt was a young player who had underwhelmed in just over a season with the Lakers and who continued to underwhelm after this deal.
June 16, 1975
Lakers: C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, C Walt Wesley
Bucks: G Junior Bridgeman, F/C Dave Meyers, C Elmore Smith, G/F Brian Winters
Resulting Lakers championships: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988
Claiming that Milwaukee did not meet his cultural needs, presumably his conversion to the Nation of Islam, Abdul-Jabbar asked the Bucks to trade him to either New York (where he was from) or Los Angeles (where he went to college). With only two teams able to bid on him, Milwaukee could create no bidding war and was forced to deal him for 15 cents on the dollar. Bridgeman, for what it's worth, actually had a nice enough career.
August 5, 1976
Lakers: 1977 1st round pick (F Kenny Carr, 6th overall), 1978 1st round pick (G/F Freeman Williams, 8th overall), 1979 1st round pick (G Magic Johnson, 1st overall), 1980 2nd round pick (G Sam Worthen)
Jazz: G Gail Goodrich, 1977 2nd round pick (F Essie Hollins), 1978 1st round pick (G/F Jack Givens, 16th overall)
Resulting Lakers championships: 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988
This deal was put together as a compensatory deal for the Jazz signing Goodrich on July 19, 1976 when he was 33 years old. In three seasons with the Jazz, they never had a winning record. The last of which, 1978-79, they had the worst record in the league and Goodrich promptly retired. The No. 1 overall pick they would have had went to the Lakers, who happily took Magic Johnson.
February 15, 1980
Lakers: 1983 1st round pick (F James Worthy, 1st overall), G Butch Lee
Cavaliers: F Don Ford, 1980 1st round pick (G Chad Kinch, 22nd overall)
Resulting Lakers championships: 1985, 1987, 1988
This was one of a series of trades in which Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien gave away first-round picks for marginal return. To prevent doing this, the league instituted a rule that teams cannot trade away first-round picks in consecutive seasons, commonly referred to as the "Stepien Rule."
December 24, 1981
Lakers: C Bob McAdoo
Nets: 1983 2nd round pick (G Kevin Williams)
Resulting Lakers championships: 1982, 1985
In fairness to the Nets, former MVP Bob McAdoo appeared to clearly be at the end of the line and had bounced around the league from Buffalo to Boston to Detroit to New Jersey for a few years before being shipped off to the Lakers. Once he joined the Lakers, he became a happy sixth man who backed up Kareem more than effectively.
October 10, 1983
Lakers: G Byron Scott, C Swen Nater
Clippers: G Norm Nixon, G Eddie Jordan, 1986 2nd round pick (pick eventually made by Phoenix), 1987 2nd round pick (G Bruce Dalrymple)
Resulting Lakers championships: 1985, 1987, 1988
Scott was the fourth overall pick in the 1983 draft with the Clippers and was traded during training camp of his rookie year. The Clippers figured Nixon would be a nice veteran point guard who was stuck behind Magic with the Lakers. As usual, this deal failed for the Clippers and Nixon lasted just four seasons, although he was pretty good for a couple of them. The second round pick in 1986 that was eventually made by Phoenix turned out to be Jeff Hornacek.
July 11, 1996
Lakers: G Kobe Bryant
Hornets: C Vlade Divac
Resulting Lakers championships: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010
Prior to the 1996 draft, the high school eligible Bryant declared he only wanted to play for the Lakers. Lakers general manager Jerry West loved Bryant's pre-draft workout, calling it the best he had ever seen (and this is the general manager who put together the 1980s Lakers dynasty).
The Lakers and Hornets arranged a trade at the draft with the Hornets selecting Bryant 13th overall on June 26, 1996 and trading his rights to the Lakers when the trade/free agent freeze period expired. The Lakers were thrilled to move Divac because they were trying to clear cap space in an effort to sign a free agent to take Vlade's position--Shaquille O'Neal.
January 10, 1997
Lakers: F Robert Horry, C Joe Kleine
Suns: F Cedric Ceballos, G Rumeal Robinson
Resulting Lakers championships: 2000, 2001, 2002
Horry had fallen out of favor in Phoenix after throwing a towel in the face of coach Danny Ainge. In fairness to the Suns, while Horry had already won two titles with Houston in 1994 and 1995, he had not yet earned the "Big Shot Rob" moniker and reputation for clutch shots in playoff games (even though he had made them for the Rockets) and being one of the all-time great role players that he would garner in winning three championships with the Lakers and two more with the Spurs in the 2000s.
Ceballos had actually had a couple decent years with the Lakers but was a one-dimensional scorer best known for winning a slam dunk contest while blindfolded.
July 20, 2007
Lakers: G Derek Fisher
Jazz: Nothing
Resulting Lakers championships: 2009, 2010
After an inspired playoff performance with the Jazz in 2007, Fisher asked to be released because of his toddler daughter's rare form of eye cancer. Fisher felt he needed to live in either New York or Los Angeles in order to make sure his daughter had the highest level of care available to her at all times. Utah, rather than attempting to trade him to the Lakers, Knicks or Clippers, obliged and granted him his release. The Lakers, for whom Fisher had played from 1996-2004, eagerly signed him as a veteran who Kobe Bryant, at the time wanting to be traded, liked and respected.
February 1, 2008
Lakers: F/C Pau Gasol, 2010 2nd round pick
Grizzlies: F Kwame Brown, G Javaris Crittendon, C Marc Gasol, 2008 1st round pick (F Donte Green, 28th overall)
Resulting Lakers championships: 2009, 2010
A deal so lopsided that it prompted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team was the defending champion at the time, to publicly complain about it. The Lakers continued their history of getting elite big men for nothing and all they had to do was give up Brown, who is perhaps the worst No. 1 overall draft pick in modern NBA history, and the rights to Pau's mediocre little brother Marc (who admittedly had an okay season this past year). Playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol went from being a really, really good big man (who had already won a Rookie of the Year award and led two undermanned Grizzlies teams to the playoffs) to being the best big man in the league.
Grizzlies sign GM Chris Wallace to three-year extension
Anytime you can sign a general manager who traded away Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, Jarvaris Crittendon, Marc Gasol and a draft choice that becomes Donte Green to a three-year extension, you have to do it.
When Kobe Bryant makes his Hall of Fame speech in around 2020, I hope he remembers to thank Chris Wallace for the instrumental role he played in every title he won from 2009 on.
When Kobe Bryant makes his Hall of Fame speech in around 2020, I hope he remembers to thank Chris Wallace for the instrumental role he played in every title he won from 2009 on.
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