Dwayne Wade

[romsey31]

Well Dwayne Wade was asked on ESPN a while ago if he could get ANY player in the league who would he get? His reply was................



Damon Jones!!!! He said they flat out need a shooter.....They even asked if he wouldnt chose Duncan, he was like, Duncans a great player and I love the guy but we have Shaq so we dont need both of them.

I think the Heat are really hurting over their lost of D Jones. Pat made a huge mistake dismantling the core of his team.

[1Parker1]

Yes...because Damon Jones proved to be so clutch and helpful in ECF against Detroit. I believe he scored like 2 pts in Game 7...the game where they really needed him to step up and show his brilliant "outside shooting"

[ZStomp]

:lmao

Damon Jones?!?!

They did ask ANY player right?

He mentioned they needed a shooter and he picks Jones? :lol

There's Peja, Redd, and R Allen, etc..etc..

Funny

[SlovenianGuy]

Dwayne or Dwyane?

[batman2883]

Man they are stupid but they got Jason Williams, i'd definitly rather have Jason Williams manning the point over Damon Jones, the dude can spread the floor with the best of them, of course he does get a bit wild throwing half court three's on a fast break with plenty of time on the clock still, but he can still play great point

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

He's got good taste to pick the only University of Houston Cougar in the NBA that I know of.

I think this is a matter of politics. He can't very well say some superstar like Ray Allen or anything like that lest his teammates get pissy because he's saying they couldn't carry the scoring load, and obviously he can't say any other big in the league since Shaq would pout, so he picks a role playing shooter who left over money and PT issues. He couldn't very well say Michael Finley without looking desperate.

[Solid D]

Well Dwayne Wade was asked on ESPN a while ago if he could get ANY player in the league who would he get? His reply was................

Damon Jones!!!! He said they flat out need a shooter.....They even asked if he wouldnt chose Duncan, he was like, Duncans a great player and I love the guy but we have Shaq so we dont need both of them.

I think the Heat are really hurting over their lost of D Jones. Pat made a huge mistake dismantling the core of his team.

A while ago? Was that said by Dwyane prior to Damon signing with Cleveland?

[romsey31]

A while ago? Was that said by Dwyane prior to Damon signing with Cleveland?


He said it this morning when he was on the hotseat.

[Solid D]

Interesting. He obviously regrets the move, or non-move, on Damon.

[cheguevara]

He misses his partying homeboy. Maybe he rolled great blunts or something?

[batman2883]

I think the man is stupid, he has sick talent and doesnt need a underachieving point guard to be on his team, he has White chocolate now, who can dish out passes with the best of them....he should be content, i take it as a slap in the face if i was JWill..i'd be pretty pissed

[Solid D]

If J-Will was a member of a firing squad, he'd shoot at "AIM!" instead of at "FIRE!".

[romsey31]

I think the man is stupid, he has sick talent and doesnt need a underachieving point guard to be on his team, he has White chocolate now, who can dish out passes with the best of them....he should be content, i take it as a slap in the face if i was JWill..i'd be pretty pissed


He said he needed a shooter, not a PG.

[Obstructed_View]

Shaq made people think Wade is an all-star, why wouldn't Wade think Jones was better than he actually is, too?

[cheguevara]

He said he needed a shooter, not a PG.

Isn't Wade a freaking Shooting Guard?????

Why the hell does he need a shooter? he should be improving his shooting skills and not asking for a shooter.

[batman2883]

Exactly but Wade was an all star before Shaq got there, he pretty much carried that team to the playoffs the year before shaq got aquirred

[nkdlunch]

Shaq made people think Wade is an all-star, why wouldn't Wade think Jones was better than he actually is, too?

Wade is definitely an All-Star. But he does need to improve his shooting, or else it's gonna really be the Antoine Walker Shoot-Fest. And you know how that turns out...
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6941/480/400/antoine.jpg

[Obstructed_View]

I hate to sound like I'm disrespecting the guy, but Wade was not an all-star before Shaq arrived. He did show tremendous upside in the '04 playoffs, and would probably have been an all-star this year even without Shaq. I've seen people rating him above LBJ and Kobe, in addition to the comparisons to Jordan, which are all ridiculous and premature. Shaq's influence has a tendency to be forgotten or vastly undervalued.

As for the '04 season, Eddie Jones and Lamar Odom probably deserve a little bit of credit, so saying that Wade single-handedly did anything is revisionist history, too.

Don't get me wrong, the kid is a stud, but he's not a top ten player. Lunch is right, though: Wade needs to increase his range, because the Heat should not want Walker and Eboy taking all their threes.

[romsey31]

Isn't Wade a freaking Shooting Guard?????

Why the hell does he need a shooter? he should be improving his shooting skills and not asking for a shooter.

If you really looked at the Heat last year, you would see Wade was more of the PG and Jones the 2.

[batman2883]

I wouldnt compare him to Kobe, or Jordan, but i would with LBJ i dont think LBJ is that great either, he's just the only option on his team. Look for his stats to diminish greatly as this season moves on now that he has a supporting cast. Dwayne Wade showed the world he was going to be an all star in 2004 and he held up to it in 2005, the dude can play and is without a doubt an all star with or without shaq

[Solid D]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=bucher_ric&id=2155597

Updated: Sep. 15, 2005, 11:30 AM ET
Miami moves puzzle, disappoint JonesBy Ric Bucher
ESPN The Magazine
Archive

For someone who has played for nine teams in seven years and never lasted anywhere more than one season, Damon Jones sure is having a hard time saying goodbye to Miami.

Jones, 29, will be introduced this afternoon as the new starting point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, right after he signs a four-year deal worth as much as $16 million. It's easily the longest and richest contract he ever has been offered. After giving the Heat one last chance to keep him, Jones flew to Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon and spent the evening being wined and dined by GM Danny Ferry and an assortment of Cavs officials.

No one has ever showered this much love on a guy who couldn't even land an NBA training-camp invitation his first two years out of the University of Houston, lasted until the fourth round of the CBA draft, and spent his formative years playing with the Black Hills Posse (IBA) and Jacksonville Barracudas (USBL).

This, then, should be the happiest day of Jones' professional career. Yet it's not.

Or at least it wasn't as of early Thursday.

"This was the hardest decision I've ever had to make," said Jones by phone, in between physicals early Thursday morning. "It's tough to talk about, even now. It won't really sink in that I'm a Cavalier until I put my name on that contract. It's still disappointing that I'm not going back to a team that was a minute and a half away from going to the Finals."

Now he joins a team that he described as "on the cusp of being good." He loves that he's coming in on the ground floor of an emerging franchise, that first-year coach Mike Brown scratched his way through the coaching ranks the same way Jones did as a player, that he's arriving with Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall, and that LeBron James can't posterize him again as he did with a fast-break dunk Feb. 3 on TNT.

"Instead of being on the other end, I can be the one throwing him lobs," Jones said.

But for all that, Jones knows that the Cavs aren't ready to contend and that a lot of question marks about their chemistry and cohesion will have to be answered before they are.

That's why he'd still be in Miami had the Heat simply been willing to increase his salary more than a few hundred thousand above the $2.7 million he would've received had he not opted out of his two-year deal. The Cavs, after all, reportedly are starting him at $3.5 million. It's hard to believe the Heat, had they reeeeeeally wanted to keep Jones, couldn't have matched that.

And to hear Jones tell it, he won't be the only one disturbed about his departure from the Heat. Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade repeatedly offered to exert their influence on Heat management to get Jones re-signed. One conversation with Shaq this week lasted 2 1/2 hours, he said, and got "very emotional."

"But I didn't want them to say anything," Jones added. "I wanted to be brought back for my contributions on and off the basketball court, nothing else."

Jones also indicated that coach Stan Van Gundy had his back. Despite the acquisition of Grizzlies point guard Jason Williams in this summer's ginormous five-team, 13-player deal, Jones had been told he would remain the starter. That could've been propaganda to get Jones back in the fold -- or it could point to the threat of fissures between Van Gundy and president Pat Riley that bringing in Williams, James Posey and Antoine Walker poses. Riley, as with all personnel chiefs, will want the new pieces provided every opportunity to demonstrate how wise it was to get them. Van Gundy, as with all coaches, will want to stick with the players he knows and can trust.

"Now that I'm on the outside looking in, it's going to be tough," Jones said. "They're going to be successful, but Stan is going to have a problem coaching those personalities."

Although Jones thanks Riley for the chance last season afforded him, he is baffled by the team's extreme makeover.

"I've been scratching my head from Day One," he said. "I can't give you a real reason why it had to be done. We lost to the defending champions with a whole lot of things that didn't get airplay. Udonis [Haslem] had a broken finger; Eddie [Jones] was having knee problems; Dwyane was hurt; and I got two cortisone shots in my ankle so I could play in Game 7. Pat Riley had a vision of, I don't know, the Showtime Lakers and a bunch of big names. I just wish we could've done what the Detroits and San Antonios and even the Lakers in their championship years did -- keep everybody together and build that championship continuity."

That, of course, is no longer his concern. Despite the Cuyahoga love, owner Dan Gilbert's money and whatever he might say, Jones leaves the lingering impression that he still wishes it were.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine and collaborated with Rockets center Yao Ming on "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds."

[Obstructed_View]

I wouldnt compare him to Kobe, or Jordan, but i would with LBJ i dont think LBJ is that great either, he's just the only option on his team. Look for his stats to diminish greatly as this season moves on now that he has a supporting cast. Dwayne Wade showed the world he was going to be an all star in 2004 and he held up to it in 2005, the dude can play and is without a doubt an all star with or without shaq

You could not offer better proof of how overrated Wade is if you tried. If LBJ has no supporting cast, then I wonder how people explain seven assists per game. He also had a better year than Kobe, and he's only 20. Given that as a follow up to his rookie year, that's pretty fuckin' great, in my book.

I never said Wade couldn't play, and I'd take him on my team any day of the week, but if he thinks Damon Jones is the most valuable addition to his team, then he ain't too bright.

[TheTruth]

Yes...because Damon Jones proved to be so clutch and helpful in ECF against Detroit. I believe he scored like 2 pts in Game 7...the game where they really needed him to step up and show his brilliant "outside shooting"
I have a crush on 1Parker1.

[mavsfan1000]

By the way Damon Jones sprained his ankle badly in that game. That might have to something with why he struggled. Damon Jones is a great addition to Cleveland and Miami is stupid for not resigning him.

[nkdlunch]

You could not offer better proof of how overrated Wade is if you tried. If LBJ has no supporting cast, then I wonder how people explain seven assists per game. He also had a better year than Kobe, and he's only 20. Given that as a follow up to his rookie year, that's pretty fuckin' great, in my book.

I never said Wade couldn't play, and I'd take him on my team any day of the week, but if he thinks Damon Jones is the most valuable addition to his team, then he ain't too bright.

LBJ no supporting cast?? The Cavs have been scrambling to make him happy since the first day he was drafted. This season he definitely has a supporting cast, let's see how far they go

[z0sa]

I have a crush on 1Parker1.

you too? lol

on a more serious note, damon jones is a hell of a shooter. I think hes going to fit in well as a cav as soon as he sees all the trouble Miami is going to be having chemistry wise.

[CaptainLate]

By the way Damon Jones sprained his ankle badly in that game. That might have to something with why he struggled.

From Ric Bucher article: "I've been scratching my head from Day One," (Damon Jones) said. "I can't give you a real reason why (an extreme makeover) had to be done. We lost to the defending champions with a whole lot of things that didn't get airplay. Udonis [Haslem] had a broken finger; Eddie [Jones] was having knee problems; Dwyane was hurt; and I got two cortisone shots in my ankle so I could play in Game 7. Pat Riley had a vision of, I don't know, the Showtime Lakers and a bunch of big names. I just wish we could've done what the Detroits and San Antonios and even the Lakers in their championship years did -- keep everybody together and build that championship continuity."

[CaptainLate]

Without Damon Jones, the Heat now have this for choices per Ira Winderman
of Sun-Sentinel.com


Free agents who might fit Heat's need for outside shooting:
Published September 25, 2005

Player, Comment

Casey Jacobsen -- Got early look from Heat, but only 6 feet 6

Jason Kapono -- Restricted free agent requires 2-year offer

Kerry Kittles-- Injury-plagued veteran brings many questions

Walter McCarty -- Portland already has expressed strong interest

Anthony Peeler -- 35, and at 6-4 doesn't fill need at small forward

Glenn Robinson -- Pat Riley recently downplayed possibility

Rodney White -- Interest has waned on player who needs ball

[CaptainLate]

And then you have this from the same Sun-Sentinel writer:

And Payton's place?
Published September 25, 2005

There is no debate. Or is there?

"I traded for Jason Williams because we needed a starting point guard," Heat President Pat Riley said Friday.

That trade, of course, was back on Aug. 2, when Gary Payton still was perceived as a big-ticket item in free agency, one seemingly beyond the Heat's grasp.

Now Payton is here. And now the issue could be how Williams reacts to the latest in a career-long string of challenges.

During his final year with the Kings, Williams often lost out on meaningful late-game minutes to Bobby Jackson. Then, over the past three years in Memphis, those same crucial minutes often were spent on the bench in favor of Earl Watson.

Now a future Hall of Famer is waiting in the wings.

"I don't think your best players or most talented or most versatile players will necessarily start," Riley said the day after signing Payton.

While that might have worked with Riley's championship Lakers, when Kurt Rambis, clearly an inferior talent, started ahead of Bob McAdoo, this is a different era. Starters now are greeted by fireworks, lasers, video tributes, semi-naked dancers. Reserves are mumbled into action during stoppages.

While Williams, at 29, clearly has the younger legs, Payton, at 37, hardly enters Stan Van Gundy's training camp at a comparative disadvantage.

Last season, with both playing as starters, Payton averaged more points (11.3 to 10.1), rebounds (3.1-1.7), assists (6.1-5.6) and steals (1.14-1.06), shot far better from the field (.468-.413) and slightly better on 3-pointers (.326-.324). Granted Payton did it in an average of 33 minutes a game to 27.5 for Williams, but that also spoke to the confidence from their respective coaches in Boston and Memphis.

With Williams under contract for three more years at more than $24 million, and with Payton on a one-year deal at the $1.1 million minimum, there are far too many considerations for the front office to encourage open competition.

Riley said the right thing last week: "It's whatever Stan wants and whoever he sees is in the best interest."

But it's about more than that. It's about Riley, from the top of the organization, making it work with a rotation of those who have almost exclusively played as starters most of their careers, be it Payton, Antoine Walker, James Posey or even Alonzo Mourning.

Riley, in fact, sounded none too pleased to learn Walker recently told ESPN.com, "I've never come off the bench in my career, so I'm not even looking at that as a possible option."

"There's not going to be any issue about who starts, who plays at the end of the game," Riley said. "The less they talk about it, the better it will be."

Should Walker emerge as starting power forward, Udonis Haslem likely would thrive off the bench, a role from which he emerged two years ago as a rookie.

Should Walker start at small forward, Posey already has proved a capable reserve.

But the Williams situation is different. Too many games have been played in recent years with the former Gators guard looking over his shoulder. By not bringing back incumbent starter Damon Jones, the Heat seemingly defused that issue. Now, with Payton in place, a player who has not played as a reserve in more than a decade, how can a healthy debate not ensue?

"To me," Riley said, "Jason Williams is probably the guy we're going to start."

So, in essence, Williams' Heat tenure begins punctuated the same way his Grizzlies tenure ended -- with a question mark.

[CaptainLate]

No wonder Sean Seveney of SportingNews recently wrote in his article "A cruel, cruel summer? Not for every team"

If you live in San Antonio, just turn the page. Go on. Skip this; it doesn't apply to you. The Spurs are the defending NBA champs, and their biggest loss this offseason was local hero Devin Brown. They replaced him by signing -- ahem -- Michael Finley, a two-time All-Star. Kind of takes the sting out of losing Brown, don't you think?

No other team had the summer the Spurs did, though. While they were dancing through the tulips with new signees Finley, Nick Van Exel and Fabricio Oberto, 29 other teams were high-stepping through a minefield. Every positive came with a negative.

:elephant :spin :blah

The 29 other teams are going: :pctoss

[Marklar MM]

Trust me. Damon Jones may be a semi-decent pg who can shoot a 3 when he is wide open, but come playoff time, he is about as reliable as a donkeys ass.

[Obstructed_View]

Trust me. Damon Jones may be a semi-decent pg who can shoot a 3 when he is wide open, but come playoff time, he is about as reliable as a donkeys ass.
You mean, come playoff time with an injured Shaq and and injured Wade? If that's what you mean then I agree with you, however with the injuries they had he was hardly wide open. As a Pistons fan you should be grateful for those injuries, and I'm surprised you don't give the Detroit D any more credit than you do.

Just playing devil's advocate here.