Ashy Larry
09-19-2010, 11:26 AM
FISH: The Top Six “Moves’’ In The West
By Mike Fisher -- FOXSportsSouthwest.com and DallasBasketball.com
The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it. -- Elbert Hubbard
Not every “move’’ is a trade. Some moves are more subtle than that. Some moves are like paddling while in the water; you’re just trying to prevent drowning.
The challenge in competing in the NBA’s Western Conference is, of course, that for a decade now there have always been eight or 10 or 12 teams preparing to speed-boat ahead of any contender who dares to simple float along.
Such is the case again this offseason, when West teams have fallen short of matching “Miami Thrice’’ but nevertheless keep throwing elbows in search of playoff positioning. Here, the Top Six “Moves’’ In The West … keeping in mind that “moves’’ can sometimes just be represented by elbowing and paddling:
6. New Orleans: The Pacification of Paul
Yes, the Hornets dug themselves this hole. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some credit for trying to shovel out of it. They are upgrading their ownership and they are making a commitment to Chris Paul in hopes of avoiding getting “LeBroned’’ in 2012 when CP3’s contract expires.
It’s a case of the inmate running the asylum, but the Hornets are justified in trying to pacify Paul.
So they’ve dumped GM Jeff Bower (and any writer who thinks that wasn’t done at the behest of Paul’s people is woefully under-informed). They’ve traded Paul’s caddie Darren Collison for wingman Trevor Ariza. And most impressive of all, they’ve convinced Paul – despite the influence on him from LeBron’s cronies – to quit making mutinous noises.
None of that has yet resulted in a game won. But if your greatest fear is that you are about to be LeBroned, and you take steps to avoid that, you have accomplished something.
5. Utah: Power In The Post
Dallas had the opportunity to acquire Al Jefferson, but passed because the Minnesota big man would’ve come at a cost of $42 million over three years and would’ve served only as Dirk Nowitzki’s backup. An arguably better landing spot for Big Al? Utah, which was looking for a replacement for Carlos Boozer and now has an ideal (if expensive) one.
Jefferson figures to thrive under Jerry Sloan – and because this is the first winning program he’s ever been involved with. He’s a big import to replace a big export … so Utah stays afloat in the talent department despite Boozer’s departure, which is a pretty neat trick.
4. Oklahoma City: Asset Management
Thunder GM Sam Presti has been given lots of props for what we’ll call “anticipated genius’’; that is, observers have long praised him for what they assume he’ll do with OKC.
But now, he’s actually doing it.
OKC entered the draft with four picks, none of them in the first 20 slots. The Thunder exited the draft with veteran shooting wings Morris Peterson and Daequan Cook, with Kansas center Cole Aldrich, with a future protected first-round pick from the Clippers, and with three second-round prospects including 7-foot shooter Tibor Pleiss.
Oh, and the Thunder also quietly re-signed scoring champ and MVP candidate Kevin Durant to a five-year contract. (And did so without the benefit of a nationally-televised announcement.)
The genius is being realized.
3. Dallas: The Magnificent Sevens
Some were worried that it might take $10 mil a year to keep 7-foot center Brendan Haywood in Dallas.
Some were worried that The DUST Chip (Erick Dampier’s insta-expiring contract) might net nothing for Dallas.
Some were worried that Dirk Nowitzki – the franchise – might bolt Dallas.
Instead, Mavs management found a way to: retain Haywood at the rate of $8.3 mil a year guaranteed for the next five seasons; swap Dampier for Tyson Chandler, healthy for the first time in three years and himself a monster expiring contract; and keep Dirk around, probably for the rest of his career, at a total cost of $16 million less than he could’ve demanded.
In the case of Nowitzki, “loyalty’’ worked both ways. He spurned flirtations from New York, New Jersey and Phoenix out of respect to Mavs bosses Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, and why?
Because he believes they’ve earned respect.
Add it up: The Mavs aren’t the Lakers (though last year, with 55 wins and a No. 2 seed, they spent 82 games being just behind the Lakers). But they are Laker-long, with 7-footer Haywood and 7-footer Chandler available to play alongside 7-footer Nowitzki.
And for anyone who thinks a team doesn’t deserve credit for re-upping its own? Consider what is going on right now in Cleveland and Toronto … consider what might go wrong in New Orleans and Denver … and consider what the Thunder and the Mavs would look like without their “face-of-the-franchise’’ guys.
2. Lakers: Incremental Moves
There are some network-level wags who are labeling the Lakers as “losers’’ in their Summer Shopping. This misinformed approach fails to take into consideration L.A.’s established talent base; if I have a five-car garage, just how many Ferraris do you expect me to park in there?
These two-time NBA champs upgraded from Jordan Farmar by adding Steve Blake as the backup point guard. And they gave up nothing to acquire tough-guy wing Matt Barnes. … which represents an upgrade over the likes of Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic.
Think about it: They’ve added to the foundation of Kobe/Gasol/Artest/Bynum/Odom by replacing champion-level parts like Farmar … with better parts.
1. San Antonio: The Fountain of Youth
By reputation, the Spurs are old. Tim Duncan limps a little bit and Manu Ginobili is going bald and … wait a minute. … they just signed Brazilian star Tiago Splitter to a three-year, $10.9-million deal? And Splitter has all that international experience but is just 25?
Never mind.
The Spurs acquired his rights at the end of the 2007 Draft. They didn’t panic, they didn’t demand. They just nursed the situation. And now the time – because some of the Spurs actually are aging, as humans do – is right.
Splitter is a post-up weapon, he’s a worker, he’s a great pick-and-roll fit on both ends. … He’s not LeBron or Wade or Bosh … and again, none of the pickups in the West this summer are. But Tiago Splitter represents how it works in the deeply competitive West, where elbowing and paddling matter so much.
Nice battle in the West ......
By Mike Fisher -- FOXSportsSouthwest.com and DallasBasketball.com
The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it. -- Elbert Hubbard
Not every “move’’ is a trade. Some moves are more subtle than that. Some moves are like paddling while in the water; you’re just trying to prevent drowning.
The challenge in competing in the NBA’s Western Conference is, of course, that for a decade now there have always been eight or 10 or 12 teams preparing to speed-boat ahead of any contender who dares to simple float along.
Such is the case again this offseason, when West teams have fallen short of matching “Miami Thrice’’ but nevertheless keep throwing elbows in search of playoff positioning. Here, the Top Six “Moves’’ In The West … keeping in mind that “moves’’ can sometimes just be represented by elbowing and paddling:
6. New Orleans: The Pacification of Paul
Yes, the Hornets dug themselves this hole. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some credit for trying to shovel out of it. They are upgrading their ownership and they are making a commitment to Chris Paul in hopes of avoiding getting “LeBroned’’ in 2012 when CP3’s contract expires.
It’s a case of the inmate running the asylum, but the Hornets are justified in trying to pacify Paul.
So they’ve dumped GM Jeff Bower (and any writer who thinks that wasn’t done at the behest of Paul’s people is woefully under-informed). They’ve traded Paul’s caddie Darren Collison for wingman Trevor Ariza. And most impressive of all, they’ve convinced Paul – despite the influence on him from LeBron’s cronies – to quit making mutinous noises.
None of that has yet resulted in a game won. But if your greatest fear is that you are about to be LeBroned, and you take steps to avoid that, you have accomplished something.
5. Utah: Power In The Post
Dallas had the opportunity to acquire Al Jefferson, but passed because the Minnesota big man would’ve come at a cost of $42 million over three years and would’ve served only as Dirk Nowitzki’s backup. An arguably better landing spot for Big Al? Utah, which was looking for a replacement for Carlos Boozer and now has an ideal (if expensive) one.
Jefferson figures to thrive under Jerry Sloan – and because this is the first winning program he’s ever been involved with. He’s a big import to replace a big export … so Utah stays afloat in the talent department despite Boozer’s departure, which is a pretty neat trick.
4. Oklahoma City: Asset Management
Thunder GM Sam Presti has been given lots of props for what we’ll call “anticipated genius’’; that is, observers have long praised him for what they assume he’ll do with OKC.
But now, he’s actually doing it.
OKC entered the draft with four picks, none of them in the first 20 slots. The Thunder exited the draft with veteran shooting wings Morris Peterson and Daequan Cook, with Kansas center Cole Aldrich, with a future protected first-round pick from the Clippers, and with three second-round prospects including 7-foot shooter Tibor Pleiss.
Oh, and the Thunder also quietly re-signed scoring champ and MVP candidate Kevin Durant to a five-year contract. (And did so without the benefit of a nationally-televised announcement.)
The genius is being realized.
3. Dallas: The Magnificent Sevens
Some were worried that it might take $10 mil a year to keep 7-foot center Brendan Haywood in Dallas.
Some were worried that The DUST Chip (Erick Dampier’s insta-expiring contract) might net nothing for Dallas.
Some were worried that Dirk Nowitzki – the franchise – might bolt Dallas.
Instead, Mavs management found a way to: retain Haywood at the rate of $8.3 mil a year guaranteed for the next five seasons; swap Dampier for Tyson Chandler, healthy for the first time in three years and himself a monster expiring contract; and keep Dirk around, probably for the rest of his career, at a total cost of $16 million less than he could’ve demanded.
In the case of Nowitzki, “loyalty’’ worked both ways. He spurned flirtations from New York, New Jersey and Phoenix out of respect to Mavs bosses Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, and why?
Because he believes they’ve earned respect.
Add it up: The Mavs aren’t the Lakers (though last year, with 55 wins and a No. 2 seed, they spent 82 games being just behind the Lakers). But they are Laker-long, with 7-footer Haywood and 7-footer Chandler available to play alongside 7-footer Nowitzki.
And for anyone who thinks a team doesn’t deserve credit for re-upping its own? Consider what is going on right now in Cleveland and Toronto … consider what might go wrong in New Orleans and Denver … and consider what the Thunder and the Mavs would look like without their “face-of-the-franchise’’ guys.
2. Lakers: Incremental Moves
There are some network-level wags who are labeling the Lakers as “losers’’ in their Summer Shopping. This misinformed approach fails to take into consideration L.A.’s established talent base; if I have a five-car garage, just how many Ferraris do you expect me to park in there?
These two-time NBA champs upgraded from Jordan Farmar by adding Steve Blake as the backup point guard. And they gave up nothing to acquire tough-guy wing Matt Barnes. … which represents an upgrade over the likes of Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic.
Think about it: They’ve added to the foundation of Kobe/Gasol/Artest/Bynum/Odom by replacing champion-level parts like Farmar … with better parts.
1. San Antonio: The Fountain of Youth
By reputation, the Spurs are old. Tim Duncan limps a little bit and Manu Ginobili is going bald and … wait a minute. … they just signed Brazilian star Tiago Splitter to a three-year, $10.9-million deal? And Splitter has all that international experience but is just 25?
Never mind.
The Spurs acquired his rights at the end of the 2007 Draft. They didn’t panic, they didn’t demand. They just nursed the situation. And now the time – because some of the Spurs actually are aging, as humans do – is right.
Splitter is a post-up weapon, he’s a worker, he’s a great pick-and-roll fit on both ends. … He’s not LeBron or Wade or Bosh … and again, none of the pickups in the West this summer are. But Tiago Splitter represents how it works in the deeply competitive West, where elbowing and paddling matter so much.
Nice battle in the West ......