Normally GMs will let the season stretch its legs a little before making a blockbuster move, but not this year. Reports have the Denver Nuggets shipping Allen Iverson to Motown for Chauncey Billups, plus Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb (remember him?). Obviously, this is a huge deal that, assuming it goes through, will impact both teams now and down the road. Some quick thoughts: For the Pistons, they get some badly needed scoring punch, along with a very driven future HOFer desperate to get back to the Finals. It's a blueprint that worked for Boston, right? Losing Billups will hurt, but the Pistons are big on Rodney Stuckey, and think he's ready to assume frontline duty. But even if the deal doesn't work this season- and it might not since the Rip Hamilton/AI combination is in some ways as awkward as the AI/Melo duo- Detroit gains some serious flexibility once Iverson's $20 mil are wiped from the books. On a talent-for-talent level, they come out ahead. How it plays out will be interesting to watch.
Denver not only saves a little money now (they'll likely buy out McDyess), but I think they've improved as well. The Iverson/'Melo combo just didn't work. They're both great players, but it wasn't a good fit, despite a legitimate push from both to find on-court harmony. Billups gives them a true point, and ought to make better players out of Anthony and JR Smith. They'll run a better offense and take better shots, which will help them on the other end. Iverson is a better player, Billups makes more sense.
The deal doesn't make Denver an upper echelon team, but I think they're more likely to make the playoffs now than they were Sunday.
BK
 Team USA whupped up on Spain this morning, 119-82, to win Pool B with a never-challenged 4-0 record. They certainly look like the old-school U.S. squads that used to routinely post blowout wins, but obviously the job isn't quite finished yet. The U.S. is shoring up some of the loose ends heading into the medal rounds next week, and assuming they haven't peaked, look like they'll continue to steamroll the field with an impressive amount of versatility and unselfishness.
I thought heading into the tournament that the U.S. would win, but that they'd have to win at least one close game to do it. The world, in other words, wouldn't make it easy. Well, they're not putting up much of a fight right now, which leads to today's Question(s) of the Day:
Can Team USA be knocked off? Will things get tougher next week, or is this going to be what it's like until the Americans are finally draped with fancy gold souvenirs?
BK
My wife and I keep a stash of what we call "Emergency Ramen" on the top shelf of the pantry. I'm not talking about the good stuff that can be made into any number of delectable dishes, but the 25-cents-a-package variety filled with enough fat and sodium to kill a horse. In college, when the constitution is hardier and your doctor doesn't burden you with words like "family history" and "early indicators of heart disease," that stuff can be called "dinner." Now, not so much. It's there as a safety net should things turn sour or we run out of, well, everything.
That's sort of where things stand when it comes to the remaning names on the NBA free-agent list. Once you get past the high profile restricted FAs - they ain't comin' here - the list is populated more with Ramen noodle types, players that won't hurt anything as long as they can be had on the cheap and aren't used very often, or are best avoided entirely.
Read on »
Avery Johnson is out in Dallas. Meanwhile, in Phoenix, Suns GM Steve Kerr is denying reports that Mike D'Antoni is on his way out, but that doesn't necessarily mean much given that the Jack McCallum story for SI.com that broke the news said that the Suns weren't necessarily interested in firing D'Antoni... they just won't complain if he seeks employment elsewhere.
The wheel spins in the Western Conference. Plenty more to come on this, I'm sure. Fair to say, though, that the balance of power is now a lot different than it was a couple years back.
BK
And now even smaller.
My girlfriend was perusing TMZ.com for celeb dish and stumbled upon this nugget about the namesake of my 2006 All-Laker fantasy squad. It appears Isaiah was driving around L.A.'s skid row at 2:30 am on this particular Saturday in an automobile neither purchased by him nor willfully loaned to him. The classic recipe for "nothing going wrong." According to TMZ, it's the second arrest this month. Yikes. Considering he's currently on a probation and already has at least one felony to his name, this development could turn out rather poorly for the former slam dunk champ.
It's astonishing how much talent this guy flushed down the porcelain. Hopefully, he can get some help ASAP.
AK
Another game against a good team, another loss for Big D. Tonight, the Mavs were in Denver, got off to a solid start... then were run off the court by the Nuggets in the second half, getting outscored 58-35 en route to a 118-105 loss. I didn't see the whole game (too much March Madness to watch), but I saw enough. Without Dirk, Dallas has trouble generating good shots and a diverse attack, and on the other end, while Denver can score on anyone, nothing Dallas has done against playoff caliber teams indicates they can get stops consistently.
With Golden State about to wrap up a win over Portland, the loss leaves Dallas hanging on to the seven spot on the W.C. playoff ladder with a cracked little fingernail. A game up on Denver, half a game on the Warriors (assuming I got the math right). It doesn't get easier, either. Among their ten remaining games, the Mavs have two games left against Golden State, play in LA, Phoenix and Portland (24-10 at home), and host Utah and New Orleans. The only chippies are two games against the Sonics, and a visit to Staples... to play the Clippers.
My guess? They miss the playoffs, and probably by a couple games. And if that happens, I'd be shocked if Mark Cuban didn't fire Avery Johnson. Could be an interesting offseason in Dallas.
BK
Hopefully those of you who watched last night's debacle against the Bobcats no longer feel soiled by the experience. Or maybe you do (it was, in this context, a dirtying event). Either way, this is a fun little distraction, worth a read- a breakdown of all the credits and debts owed and received by each team in the next two drafts, and beyond. For example, the Lakers will get Charlotte's second rounder in '09 from the Kareem Rush deal. But really, the fun comes not so much in the information, helpful as it is, but the random names that pop up. Who among us doesn't remember where he was when the Jazz and Sixers swapped the rights to Kyrylo Fesenko and Herbert Hill, netting the Jazz a second rounder this year?
BK
Apparently, the vet's about to end his comeback bid with the Warriors and call it a career. And a pretty good one at that.
For those fans clamoring for Mitch to bring 1/5 of the Fab Five into the fold (say that five times fast), be sure to send him a thank you note for dodging that anti-climactic bullet.
AK
Dwyane Wade will be shutting 'er down for the season, putting a serious roadblock in the Heat's quest for 20% win rate. He'll undergo a followup procedure to repair a never-quite-did-heal knee injury, one he hopes will be strong enough come USA Basketball time.
Most will say this development serves mainly as clincher proof that Miami has officially packed it in (assuming news that Riles' scouting duties now take priority over his coaching gig didn't already provide a clue). But to me, Wade being out mostly further enhances the degree to which Smush Parker has become exiled. With Wade out and injuries making Marcus Banks, Udonis Haslem, Earl Barron and Dorrell Wright (not to mention 'Zo) anywhere from questionable to flat out "out," from a purely practical standpoint, the Heat could use a body. Unless you know something about Chris Quinn that I don't, they really could. And I wouldn't count on William Henry's cellie blowing up with a phone call from the front office. There's better odds of the Heat trading to get Shaq back. Dude has become a straight up South Beach leper.
AK
The Western Conference race may have lost one contender today, as the Rockets are expected to announce Tuesday that Yao Ming will undergo season ending foot surgery to repair a stress fracture. Needless to say, this is a major blow to Houston, who have won 12 games in a row and made themselves players in the W.C. playoff race.
More on this to come, I'm sure.
BK
Sure, it may have involved 11 players, but none of those scrubs threaten to rock the NBA landscape like Lakersblog icon Von Wafer, packing his bags and booking a flight to Portland as we speak. I think it goes without saying that if you can't get Greg Oden on the court for a playoff push, Wafer and his 7% clip from behind the arc would be most logical Plan B.
As BK put it, "He's now tilting northwest."
As you were.
AK
UPDATE: The W.C. (or at least the good part of it) is indeed quiet, but the East finally is making some noise. ESPN.com is reporting that Ben Wallace has been sent from Chicago to Cleveland as part of a three way deal that includes the Sonics. Cleveland also gets Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Delonte West, while Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, and Cedric Simmons go to Chicago. Seattle mostly gets salary relief, which is fine with them.
Given the flurry of massive deals that have gone down over the last week or two, I'm not going to say the trade deadline has come and gone quietly... but at least today, the trade deadline has come and gone quietly. Last night's Kurt Thomas-to-San Antonio swap was supplemented with a Bonzi Wells/Mike James for Bobby Jackson trade. I love the Thomas deal for SA, and think Wells can help in Nawlins, as the Hornets needed a little more depth and offensive versatility. But overall, any remaining big names- Mike Miller, Ron Artest, Ben Wallace, Zach Randolph, for example- stayed put. The NBA couldn't produce one more afternoon of earth shifting news. Oh well.
There's still time for more to happen, and if anything pops up, we'll pass it along. But as of 12:35, it's pretty quiet.
BK
You could combine all the cheers Devean George got in seven seasons as a Laker and I doubt they'd add up to the big ups he's getting from the Nation right now. In an effort to protect his Bird rights (which he'd lose if he gets moved- man alive, the CBA is complicated), George has put the kibosh on this blockbuster.
Granted, I imagine the trade will happen with somebody else in his place. But still, way to bleed purple and gold (or at least not not blue, red and silver), Mr George. No Christmas card from Bruce Springsteen for you.
AK
Looks like the Kidd-to-Dallas talks are heating up again, though Mark Cuban is quoted (at least here) as saying the price his team would have to pay would be too high.
These things are never done until they're done, but man alive, should this go down, the West will get a lot wilder. Though, depending on who they'd have to give up, it's questionable as to how much better Dallas would get. But fun trumps everything, and this would be fun!
BK
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the nicknames of professional gambler James Batista, one of the alleged co-conspirators in the Tim Donaghy case. Try as I might, I just can't make stuff like this up.
So what can Mr. Baba (or Mr. Sheep, depending on your preference) and Thomas Martino look forward to in the future? Well, if Donaghy's guilty plea is an omen of sorts, I'd keep my day planner open for upward of the next 25 years. That's the stretch inside Donaghy could be facing as a sentence for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information through interstate commerce. There's also about 530 large in fines, a hefty sum that could ironically force Donaghy to lay a few bets in order to pay off the debt. Might we recommend looking into tennis, Timmy?
Read on »
But the article on Tim Donaghy in the new issue of ESPN The Magazine (Prince Fielder on the cover) is worth checking out. It's not so much about Donaghy as the state of NBA reffing in general. More specifically, the league office's not-so-positive effect on said state. Micromanaged videotape review (which often leads to being retroactively criticized for calls previously issued a thumbs-up). Refs being told they personally need to call particular infractions more often. The urgency to stave off the henpeckers, which often results in ticky-tack fouls. A decided emphasis on adhering to rules and appearances over context, which, as one former ref put it, has "taken the common sense out of the officials' hands." Just one example of how the league has grown exceptionally overcontrolled since the Palace brawl. Since most of y'all are pretty critical of David Stern, Stu Jackson and the gang (for many of the reasons I've been), I thought this would be up your alley.
If you have ESPN Insider, you can click here, then sift through the table of contents. Otherwise, it's not presented in a linkable format, but you can always plant yourself at the nearest Brentano's and peruse the whole thing. Just don't bring it into the bathroom or else you've agreed to a purchase. No questions asked. Or answered. Kinda like Kobe's appearance on the "Jimmy Kimmel Show."
-- AK
Ever wake up in the morning and think, "You know, I just don't throw up in my mouth on a regular basis nearly enough?" Well, if that's your dilemma, problem solved.
I could have gone my entire life without knowing this book existed. Unfortunately, my ignorant bliss lasted a mere month.
-AK
This will hopefully ease your minds. While I sincerely congratulate Mr. Carroll on a hard-earned windfall, you can't tell me Walton isn't worth at least 500K more per season. ESPN's John Hollinger would agree.
Again, doesn't mean that 5 mil a season shouldn't sound staggering for a role player who may come off the bench. It just means that salaries are all relative in today's NBA.
-AK
The Nuggets, in need of a star player for the next 15 games or so, won the Allen Iverson sweepstakes. A.I., and perhaps a couple of low salary types, will head to Denver in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first round picks, projected to be somewhere in the 20s. Many draftniks say this year's crop should be good, so those picks could yield higher caliber players than a similar slot in '06. Not a horrible return... but I doubt they're popping champagne corks in Philly, either.
I think the Clips missed the boat on this one. Only time will tell.
BK
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