Rummpd
07-17-2005, 08:55 AM
Yawn at Least so Far in Trades and Free Agency
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By Peter Rumm, MD,
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jul 17, 2005, 09:12
Yawn!
So far the movement of free agencies and/or big trades this summer has not approached anything like last years dual seismic moves of Shaquille O’Neal to the Eastern Conference to team up with Dwyane Wade on the Heat coupled with Tracy McGrady to the Western Conference to team with Yao Ming.
This year Larry Hughes has changed his mind about staying with the talented "Golden State revisted" Arenas and Jamison duo on the Wizards to go join Lebron James on the Cavaliers. I cannot blame him for sort of breaking his word in some fans eyes "to grow with the Wizards" - nothing against Antwan Jamison or Gilbert Arenas, but they are not Lebron James (a true superstar) or Zydrunas Ilgauskas (a top tier center, a rare commidity in the NBA).
Meanwhile, the Suns may or may not be a little better as they picked up Kurt Thomas and have an offer on the table to Raja Bell but traded away Quentin Richardson.
Oh I forgot the one seismic shift this year, at least probably “in his own mind”. Jerome James, who after one decent series versus the depleted Sacramento Kings led to his self references of a “new Wilt Chamberlain”, had a horrible series versus Spurs and Tim Duncan. Yet somehow this enigmatic giant got a large contract to go and start for the New York Knicks. With all respect to you Mr. James, I saw Wilt Chamberlain play and you are not going to be Wilt Chamberlain and probably will prove to be another of Isiah Thomas’s questionable actions in his role of President of Operations for a once proud franchise.
Most likely none of these shifts will make a major difference. The Suns and the Cavaliers got some very good players. In particular, I have always liked the all around game of Thomas, but the fact remains that at a generously listed 6’9”, Mr. Thomas is seemingly under-sized to go against multiple Western “giants” such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and others at the forward positions in the West. The only way this move helps the Suns is if it allows Shawn Marion to play more at his natural position of small forward.
Larry Hughes is an excellent player especially on defense although he is a good interior scorer and a tough cover. That being said he is not the shooter the Cavaliers really wanted in this off season in either Michael Redd or Ray Allen.
Maybe it is the new collective bargaining agreement that cuts a year off the maximum contract extension to 6 years or the fact that in most cases a player tends to stay in place due to the higher salary he can get from his own team and in some cases, the chance to stay and compete for a title.
Three players that stayed in place are actually most likely going to continue to help their teams:
The first of these is the indomitable Robert Horry, who almost single handily put the Spurs over the hump in the waning moments of game five to continue his history of clutch play. Mr. Horry is not a superstar but he sure knows how to win and by staying with the Spurs versus a team like the Heat, he may have helped ensure the Spurs of another title in the near future.
A second great “save” was that of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, in this case by the new GM of the Cavaliers, Mr. Danny Ferry. Mr. Ilgauskas perhaps out of loyalty to the team that stuck with him through multiple foot surgeries and the chance to continue to play with the supreme talents of Lebron James is to me a greatly under-rated player. At 7’3” he possesses rare size among the top centers of the game today and can shoot both inside and outside. When healthy his is a top 3-5 center and averaged 16.9 PPG and 8.6 rebounds per game last year. Certainly he is a piece that the Cavaliers could not lose if they wanted to move into the top echelon of the Eastern teams. With him they can begin to stake a case to challenge the “Eastern Power Triumph rate” of the Pistons, Pacers and the Heat.
Finally, perhaps the most talented available free agent stayed with the Sonics, i.e., Mr. Ray Allen. Some are beginning to write off the Sonics as a one year wonder as they have lost an under-rated coach in Nate McMillian, James, and are allegedly going to lose Antonio Daniels. However, Ray Allen moving to another team might have shifted the “power structure” as last year. Mr. Allen became not only a better all around scorer but a leader of his team as well. The Sonics in my opinion still have a lot to offer with Rashard Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Ridnour, and others. Don’t write them off just yet!
Maybe something big will still happen in this years trades and free agents. I sure hope so for both the fans and the league.
Don’t give up hope for some more changes that could shake up the league. There have been rumors out of San Antonio of either Tony Parker or Rasho Nesterovic moving; Shareff Abdur – Rahim is free to leave Portland and could sign with multiple teams; Stephon Marbury has been alleged to be moving despite Isiah Thomas’s strong denials to the contrary; and Eddy Curry who is a restricted free agent could be going to the Hawks (if the Bulls don’t match the offer) after seemingly getting cleared for his heart arrhythmia. The Bulls cannot afford to lose Curry if they hope to continue to improve and challenge the top Eastern teams and I believe they will match any offer and keep this enigmatic young talent.
Stay tuned until then lets all Yawn!
News/Exclusive Editor and SportsDoc/Superfan!
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By Peter Rumm, MD,
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jul 17, 2005, 09:12
Yawn!
So far the movement of free agencies and/or big trades this summer has not approached anything like last years dual seismic moves of Shaquille O’Neal to the Eastern Conference to team up with Dwyane Wade on the Heat coupled with Tracy McGrady to the Western Conference to team with Yao Ming.
This year Larry Hughes has changed his mind about staying with the talented "Golden State revisted" Arenas and Jamison duo on the Wizards to go join Lebron James on the Cavaliers. I cannot blame him for sort of breaking his word in some fans eyes "to grow with the Wizards" - nothing against Antwan Jamison or Gilbert Arenas, but they are not Lebron James (a true superstar) or Zydrunas Ilgauskas (a top tier center, a rare commidity in the NBA).
Meanwhile, the Suns may or may not be a little better as they picked up Kurt Thomas and have an offer on the table to Raja Bell but traded away Quentin Richardson.
Oh I forgot the one seismic shift this year, at least probably “in his own mind”. Jerome James, who after one decent series versus the depleted Sacramento Kings led to his self references of a “new Wilt Chamberlain”, had a horrible series versus Spurs and Tim Duncan. Yet somehow this enigmatic giant got a large contract to go and start for the New York Knicks. With all respect to you Mr. James, I saw Wilt Chamberlain play and you are not going to be Wilt Chamberlain and probably will prove to be another of Isiah Thomas’s questionable actions in his role of President of Operations for a once proud franchise.
Most likely none of these shifts will make a major difference. The Suns and the Cavaliers got some very good players. In particular, I have always liked the all around game of Thomas, but the fact remains that at a generously listed 6’9”, Mr. Thomas is seemingly under-sized to go against multiple Western “giants” such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and others at the forward positions in the West. The only way this move helps the Suns is if it allows Shawn Marion to play more at his natural position of small forward.
Larry Hughes is an excellent player especially on defense although he is a good interior scorer and a tough cover. That being said he is not the shooter the Cavaliers really wanted in this off season in either Michael Redd or Ray Allen.
Maybe it is the new collective bargaining agreement that cuts a year off the maximum contract extension to 6 years or the fact that in most cases a player tends to stay in place due to the higher salary he can get from his own team and in some cases, the chance to stay and compete for a title.
Three players that stayed in place are actually most likely going to continue to help their teams:
The first of these is the indomitable Robert Horry, who almost single handily put the Spurs over the hump in the waning moments of game five to continue his history of clutch play. Mr. Horry is not a superstar but he sure knows how to win and by staying with the Spurs versus a team like the Heat, he may have helped ensure the Spurs of another title in the near future.
A second great “save” was that of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, in this case by the new GM of the Cavaliers, Mr. Danny Ferry. Mr. Ilgauskas perhaps out of loyalty to the team that stuck with him through multiple foot surgeries and the chance to continue to play with the supreme talents of Lebron James is to me a greatly under-rated player. At 7’3” he possesses rare size among the top centers of the game today and can shoot both inside and outside. When healthy his is a top 3-5 center and averaged 16.9 PPG and 8.6 rebounds per game last year. Certainly he is a piece that the Cavaliers could not lose if they wanted to move into the top echelon of the Eastern teams. With him they can begin to stake a case to challenge the “Eastern Power Triumph rate” of the Pistons, Pacers and the Heat.
Finally, perhaps the most talented available free agent stayed with the Sonics, i.e., Mr. Ray Allen. Some are beginning to write off the Sonics as a one year wonder as they have lost an under-rated coach in Nate McMillian, James, and are allegedly going to lose Antonio Daniels. However, Ray Allen moving to another team might have shifted the “power structure” as last year. Mr. Allen became not only a better all around scorer but a leader of his team as well. The Sonics in my opinion still have a lot to offer with Rashard Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Ridnour, and others. Don’t write them off just yet!
Maybe something big will still happen in this years trades and free agents. I sure hope so for both the fans and the league.
Don’t give up hope for some more changes that could shake up the league. There have been rumors out of San Antonio of either Tony Parker or Rasho Nesterovic moving; Shareff Abdur – Rahim is free to leave Portland and could sign with multiple teams; Stephon Marbury has been alleged to be moving despite Isiah Thomas’s strong denials to the contrary; and Eddy Curry who is a restricted free agent could be going to the Hawks (if the Bulls don’t match the offer) after seemingly getting cleared for his heart arrhythmia. The Bulls cannot afford to lose Curry if they hope to continue to improve and challenge the top Eastern teams and I believe they will match any offer and keep this enigmatic young talent.
Stay tuned until then lets all Yawn!
News/Exclusive Editor and SportsDoc/Superfan!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Onlineseats.com
your #1 source for
NBA Hoop Tickets
Heat Tickets
Suns Tickets
Bulls Tickets
Cleveland Cavs Tickets
all 30 NBA Teams.
powered by Onlineseats.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------