Stern Sets Sights on World Domination

David Stern wants to expand into Europe. I see several problems with this expansion beyond the normal U.S. players living in Europe, vale of the dollar vs. the Euro, and plane flights across the Atlantic, and I detail them here.

Say Something Original and Accurate

I am currently sick of hearing the paid media say the following:

1. "Ben Wallace is the centerpiece of the trade." Is he the biggest name? Yes. Does he make the most money? Somehow, yes. Is he the most productive? No. Does he add something new to the Cavaliers? Not really. In fact, my favorite comment is that Wallace adds experience playing in the NBA Finals. Someone actually said that, as if the entier Cavaliers organization had no experience, despite their loss in the NBA Finals last season. The players the Cavs traded away had NBA Finals experince, too. The trade helped the Cavs. However, just as in Chicago, where I believed Noah and Thomas duplicated what Wallace offered, Vareajo, at this point, offers the same things - rebounding and defense mostly - in a younger, more athletic, taller, longer player. To me, acquiring the shooters on the perimeter in West and Sczerbiak is the centerpiece, although I still think Joe Smith ends up making the biggest contribution and is probably still the best player the Cavs acquired. Wallace's positive impact will more than likely be in the locker room. Yesterday, someone said Wallace will make the difference defending Tim Duncan. However, last time Detroit faced San Antonio, Rahseed Wallace defended Duncan more than Ben Wallace. I remember because I criticized Ben Wallace at the time because everyone makes a big deal about his defense, yet he was not even guarding the opponent's best player. Wallace is not the same player he was in 2004 (and I thought he was overrated then). If I believed Wallace was the centerpiece, or the most important acquisition, I would think it was a bad trade.

2. "With Pau Gasol, now the Lakers are a championship contender." Did anyone watch the Lakers in the 1st half of the season with Andrew Bynum? Somehow, in the media, the Lakers have morphed from Kobe and a bunch of guys who can't play to the most talented team in the NBA simply by acquiring Gasol. I like Gasol. He fits well with the Lakers. He makes them better, especially with Bynum injured. But, the Lakers had the best depth in the NBA last season. They were a championship contender from the jump this season. Gasol helps and provides insurance with Bynum's injury, allowing him time to recover without rushing back, but the Lakers had the same depth last season. They had sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Ronnie Turiaf, Vladimir Radmanovic, etc. They got lucky with Derek Fisher this summer, the final piece they needed to add some experience for a play-off run, and acquired the injured Trevor Ariza to add more athleticism earlier in the year, but they did not suddenly acquire depth or talent. In the beginning of the year, Skip Bayless said that LeBron's supporting cast was better than Kobe Bryant's. That's insane.

3. "Imagine what Texas would be like this year with Durant." Look, college basketball is a monor league. Get used to it. We do not need to spend every season bemoaning the players who left early. Enjoy Beasley this year and then let him go. Enjoy Rose and then let him go. Next year, enjoy whomever is the number 1 player. But, stop spending your time talking about things that are not going to happen. Talk about how good Texas is right now. Talk about the development of James to replace the void left by Durant. But, stop worrying about players who leave early. They should be allowed to go to the league right away anyway - that's what a Development League is for.

4. "Player X should stay in school to improve." I know the media obsesses over college basketball and thinks players develop in college. But, college coaches are paid to win games. They have limited practice time. Most admit that they will not change a player's shot in college, regardless of his shooting percentage. Some players need more college seasoning. Kids who lack upper body strength could use another year in a college weight program. However, why should Beasley stay for a second year? Is he perfect? No. But, what else is he going to develop in college? Why should Kevin Love stay in college? Is he a top 10 pick? Probably not. Would another year make him a top 10 pick? I doubt it. The biggest knock on Love is going to be his height and his lateral quickness. Staying in school will not make him taller. So, the question is whether he can improve his lateral quickness to such a degree that he makes a giant leap on the draft boards. Do I like the 1-and-dones? No. I think it hurts the academic integrity oif universities and I wish the NBA would allow teams to draft HS seniors and put them in the NBDL rather than develop players fo free in college programs willing to sacrifice its educational mission for the athletic bottom line. However, from a player's perspective, if there is nothing staying can do to improve your draft position significantly, why stick around, unless you are one of the few who actually went to college to get a degree and enjoy college? If you are like Joakim Noah, great. But, business-wise, I'd go.

Finally, I saw this on True Hoop:

Jim Alexander of The Press-Enterprise: "It's not hard to overlook Derek Fisher, or to take him for granted...He also has a lot of wisdom to offer. Jordan Farmar is listening. Where Fisher is the savvy veteran, Farmar is the 21-year-old prodigy from LA Fairfax High and UCLA with the high basketball IQ."

If you are getting paid, check your facts. Farmar attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, not Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. Also, I don't know if a 21-year-old back-up PG in the NBA qualifies as a "prodigy."

Semi-Pro

A couple months ago, I went to Pony Headquarters to discuss my book, basketball and shoes. They liked my book and gave me a pair of shoes:

Yao Out

Just when the Rockets looked like the team I predicted they would be, another injury seems to have doomed the Rockets chances in the tough Western Conference. On a roll and headed toward a high seed in the play-offs, now the Rockets may fail to make the play-offs. They played and survived with McGrady for several games; can they do the same without Yao?

In October, I wrote:

Houston will be the breakout team this year, both in terms of wins, play-off success and entertainment. If they get consistent PG play and stay healthy, there is no reason why the Rockets cannot win the championship and give Adelman the elusive title which would establish him as one of the era's best coaches.

It took them a little longer than I expected to grasp Adelman's system, and the recent trades totally shook up the powers in the Western Conference, but even with two small moves, the Rockets looked poised to contend for the rest of the season. It's too bad we won't be able to see how this plays out.

The Wild, Wild West

After the trades, the Lakers have the most talent, but almost everyone made a play to get better. Will the Nuggets or Warriors regret not entering the trading frenzy?

The Wild, Wild West

The Big Deal or Big Deal

I have had two reactions to the mega Cleveland-Seattle-Chicago deal:

1) People are way overplaying Ben Wallace's impact at this stage of his career.
2) How did Cleveland manage to get all the good players in the trade?

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of any player involved in the trade, so I do not know how much of an impact the deal will have ultimately. However, the trade creates a number of interesting questions?

1. Does Ben Wallace come off the bench for the Cavs?
2. Are the Bulls just going to let Ben Gordon walk?
3. By the time the Sonics draft all these players with the picks they have acquired, they will have to sign Kevin Durant to an extension. After playing his first 2-3 years on a team building for the future, will he want to wait for these youngsters, many of whom will be 19 when drafted, to develop?
4. Are the Sonics creating the same rebuilding project the Bulls are apparently trying to scrap? After all, the Bulls built through several drafts in a row, acquiring Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Thomas, Duhon, Noah and Sefolosha. Now, is this deal, and the potential of allowing Gordon to leave, an admission that it was nice, but it did not work?

Cleveland
I think the most important player in the trades is Joe Smith. I like Smith. He's not what you imagine when you think of the #1 overall pick in an NBA Draft, but he is a consistent scorer, smart defender and good shooter. He alone is a big upgrade over Drew Gooden in the short term. Gooden is active and an aggressive rebounder, but he's not the #2 guy on a championship team and Anderson Vareajo is more active and probably better defensively.

Wally Szcerbiak is a great acquisition as the shooter LeBron has been missing, and Delonte West capably fills that role too. While neither adds anything defensively, they certainly make James' job easier on the offensive end.

The best news is that they really did not lose anything. Gooden is the biggest piece, and they got Wallace and Smith to take his spot. Hughes has the most potential, but he never developed into James' Robin.

It is amazing, however, that taking two players who have played the last two seasons for two of the worst teams in the NBA (last year's Celtics and this year's Sonics) can actually improve your team, but I have to believe Wally and Delonte make the Cavs a better team, especially when coupled with Smith and Wallace (even they hail from the league's second most disappointing team this year).

West, Wally, James, Wallace and Z with Gibson, Devin Brown, Aleksander Pavolvic, Vareajo, Smith might be the East's best roster. Is it enough to overcome Boston's Big Three + a bunch of guys who play hard or the Pistons' veteran savvy? I don't know. I still like Detroit's starting five too much. But, this Cavaliers team is better than last year's version which made it to the Finals, for whatever that's worth.

Chicago
Well, I said at the beginning of year that the Bulls had peaked as a team and the Bulls' fans came on this site and disagreed. I said trading Tyson Chandler to sign Ben Wallace was a huge mistake. Now, they have ridded themselves of Wallace's contract (kind of), but did they create even more issues? Basically, they traded Wallace's contract for Hughes' contract. However, Hughes is much like the departed Jamal Crawford and much like Ben Gordon, who wants a lot of money this summer. I cannot imagine a team trading for Hughes and then re-signing Gordon, so much of this deal's success or failure depends on what the Bulls can acquire in a sign-and-trade with Gordon this summer. Heck, Shannon Brown could be a less expensive Gordon if given the minutes to see if he can produce. Simmons is now a former lottery pick who has been traded twice in five months, which is never a good sign.

This trade can't make the Bulls much worse, as they were a disappointment already, and now the young guys have to play, meaning we'll see how good Noah and Thomas are. Losing Wallace does not hurt too much, as his skills and those of Noah overlapped, to a degree. Now, the Bulls are getting younger, but acquiring Hughes combined with the paydays looming for Gordon and Deng leaves them without too much flexibility. It will be interesting to see how Gooden and Hughes fit in the rest of the season and what the Bulls do in the off-season to make this work.

Seattle
They deal a couple good players and receive nothing but eventual cap space. Nothing much going on here. Despite Durant's presence, they are quickly becoming irrelevant, though Seattle fans, or Oklahoma City fans, should spend a lot of time watching high school and college basketball to see who will be on the roster three years from now.

Bye-Bye Bibby

I am not a huge Mike Bibby fan. He regularly gets torched by good and great point guards alike and he has an outrageous contract (which isn't his fault, I guess).

However, he is worth more than Anthony Johnson, Tyrone Lue, Lorenzen Wright and Sheldon Williams. At least a first round draft pick. Strictly salary cap room. Tough to get excited about clearing salary when Brad Miller's bloated contract remains on the books for several more years. Memphis cleared salary, but they also got two first round picks, a rookie with magical upside and one of the top players in Europe this year. The Kings got Shelden Williams.

With Shelden Williams and Lorenzen Wright, what happens with Mikki Moore? If the Kings are dumping salaries, shouldn't we assume that Spencer Hawes will see increased playing time? And, shouldn't we assume the Kings will want to take a look at Williams and see what he offers? With Miller playing solid basketball right now, and the Kings able to go small with Artest at the four at times too, where does that leave Moore, who has already complained about not getting enough shots in games?

The trade certainly did not make the Kings better this year, but we'll see what kind of magic Petrie has before Thursday and in the off-season. Right now, pressure is on Kevin Martin, John Salmons and Beno Udrih.

As for Atlanta, talk about a steal. Honestly, as much as people say that the Grizzlies got fleeced, how can anyone say otherwise about the Kings? Sure, Gasol is a better player than Bibby right now. However, Bibby has play-off experience and has made big shots deep in play-off series. Gasol has not. Of course, the Lakers have Kobe, so that is not a concern. But, when evaluating value, Bibby gets bonus credit for play-off experience and making shots in crunch time.

Is Bibby the answer to Atlanta's ills? Maybe. If the Hawks can share the ball, and if Bibby plays both ends, the Hawks just became a dangerous Eastern Conference team. Not Boston or Detroit dangerous, but dangerous enough to make Cleveland, Orlando and the rest of the conference take note. Bibby and Joe Johnson in the backcourt with the youngsters up front: Josh Smith, Al Horford and Marvin Williams. The Hawks have plenty of talent assembled. The question is how they gel together with a new leader who likes to have the ball in his hands.

Kidd to Dallas

Mark Cuban pulled the trigger on a deal he said had no legs and it looks a little like a panic move in the wake of the Gasol and Shaq deals.

I like Jason Kidd. However, I also like Devin Harris and I'm not sure Jkidd is an improvement over Harris at this point in their careers. The Mavs, though a relatively young team, made a move which suggests they are in a win-now mode, as Kidd does not have many more miles left on his legs.

Does Kidd make the Mavs better? Yes and no. Jason Terry can match-up against PGs and JKidd can play the shooting guard. However, that means Kidd has to guard Kobe vs. the Lakers. Kidd moves the ball and has a reputation for making his teammates better. However, Dallas is a better team when Harris was on the floor.

The key to the deal may end up being Jerry Stackhouse. The Nets plan to release him. Why, I don't know. Especially if they deal Carter for Jermaine O'Neal, Stack seems like a perfect replacement. Harris, Stack, Jefferson, O'Neal and Kristic with Diop, Boone, Marcus Williams on the bench. That's a play-off team, and an improved team moving forward.

But, the Nets dump Stack. He cannot re-sign with Dallas for 30 days. How tempting is joining Phoenix or San Antonio for the play-off run? Can you imagine Stackhouse on the Suns as a back-up for Bell and Hill on the wing? Or, in San Antonio to spell Ginobili and Bowen? If he wants to win a championship, signing with one of those two teams makes more sense than Dallas, imo, as even after the trade, Dallas is at best the fourth best team in the Western Conference, once everyone gets healthy. Does Kidd make the Mavs better than the Suns, Lakers or Spurs? What about the Jazz and the Hornets?

Trading Diop hurts the Mavs interior defense. They have Dampier, but will now rely even more heavily on Brandon Bass. They added Antoine Wright who gives them some more depth on the perimeter, at least while Stack is away.

Maybe this is a gamble the Mavs felt they had to make. However, I don't think it makes them a championship contender or has the same impact as the Gasol or Shaq acquisitions. And, the Nets have to be happy about acquiring a good, young PG and some cap space. It will be interesting to see where Diop lands in the off-season, as he has developed into a nice role player.

I reserve judgement until Stackhouse makes a decision. But, if I am Phoenix or the Spurs, I'm on the phone with his agent. Or, Danny Ferry with the Cavs. Add Stack to Hughes and LeBron on the wings: it doesn't help their PG problems, but it sure gives them another weapon off the bench. Stackhouse is a veteran player than any play-off contender will covet. It will be interesting to see how loyal he stays to the Mavs.

Shaq to the Suns

My first reaction was disbelief. Then, frustration as one of the few fun teams to watch would add an aging, plodding center to ruin its attack. However, the trade makes sense if Sarver is willing to up the ante and spend the money he has been hoarding the last two years.

1. The Suns were not going to beat the Spurs or Lakers in a 7-game series. The Lakers would have beaten the Suns this year even without Gasol. They are a terrible match-up for the Suns inside and Gasol just adds to it.

2. Marion has been on the market for 2 years and can opt out this summer. Sure, the Suns' style makes him look even better than he is and he probably can't make more money anywhere else, but if Joe Johnson can leave PHX to join ATL, why wouldn't Marion opt out and join Ivaroni in Memphis or somewhere else so he can prove he is the man?

3. All reports suggest PHX has chemistry issues, which really hurts because they started on this string because their chemistry was so good initially. So, if they aren't going to win a championship, they might lose Marion anyway and their chemistry is por, why not make a change?

4. Sure, Shaq had 40 million dollars over 2 years. But, it's 2 years. Nash has 2 or 3 left on his contract and the Suns were probably going to look at rebuilding when Nash leaves anyway, as they have nobody on their roster who can play back-up point, let alone take over when Nash retires (assuming he does not come back for a couple more years).

This is not a desperate move. It is a gamble. The Suns just went all in. But, rebuilding in PHX will be much nicer if they have championship banners to look at, and they were not going to get there without a change. Now, maybe a minor change or tweak would have been enough. But, they needed a change.

At this point, Marion is clearly the better player, so you have to say the Heat wins the trade, especially since everyone believed Shaq's contract was untradeable.

However, there is one piece to the puzzle nobody has mentioned:

PHX has the best training staff in the country. They keep Steve Nash upright; Amare Stoudemire practically performed a miracle with his quick return from microfracture surgery. What if the Suns' staff can work wonders with Shaq, and Shaq gets to 85% of his normal Shaqness? Is 85% of Shaq at his best better than Shawn Marion? Would a rejuvenated Shaq, with something to prove for the first time in a while, take the Suns to the promised land?

That is the gamble. Has there ever been a trade determined by the success of a team's athletic trainer? The Suns made a gamble, but all things considered, it is a smart move because the risk is small (even if Shaq doesn't play, the Suns will make the play-offs and have a chance to win the first and second round - they still have a starting five of nash, bell, hill, diaw and stoudemire- while with Marion, the Conference Finals is far as they would have gone anyway) and the reward if Shaq gets healthy and plays motivated is HUGE -World Championship rings for everyone.

Now, how does Shaq fit? This hurts the Suns spacing, as Marion could stretch the defense in ways Diaw and Shaq will not. However, if Shaq is no the block and Nash and Amare run a pick and roll on the opposite side, you can't help off Shaq or Nash throws it to the rim and no help defender is going to stop Shaq from dunking. Plus, this means more favorable match-ups for Stoudemire both offensively and defensively. In the end, the big question becomes:
1. Against the Lakers, can Shaq handle Bynum's athleticism and can Bynum handle Shaq's experience? Can Gasol and Odom contain Stoudemire?
2. Against San Antonio, can Shaq defend Duncan?

One final point: Stoudemire has made it known he dislikes playing center. Rumors have circulated about his unhappiness, which prompted the KG rumors over the summer. Could this trade be a preemptive strike against Stoudemire making demands to move to a team that allowed him to be the versatile forward he seems to believe he is?

NY Football Giants Win Super Bowl

I am not a football guy and had no rooting interest in the Super Bowl. However, I am happy the Giants won for one reason: to give a big middle finger to the ultimate football primma donna Tikki Barber.

This year, Barber said he would still be playing if Tom Coughlin wasn't the Head Coach and said Eli Manning was not a good leader. Well, TV news anchor, looks like the Giants didn't miss you at all. How you like them apples?

Gasol to the Lakers

Everyone believes the Lakers basically stole Gasol from Memphis and now are championship contenders. I disagree on a couple levels.

First, from the beginning of the season, I believed that if Kobe Bryant truly was the best player in the league and the Lakers started Andrew Bynum and got him some confidence, they already were championship contenders.

I agree that the Lakers got the best of the deal because they got the best player in the trade and did not have to give away too much.

However, I believe Kwame Brown is a better player than anyone gives him credit for being. Sure, he never should have been the #1 pick in a draft, but shouldn't we criticize MJ for that, not Brown? It's not his fault that the Wiz drafted him #1. It's not like he could turn down the draft pick and advise the Wiz to pick someone else.

But, he is a good player off the bench and probably the Lakers best interior defender. At no time this season have the Lakers struggled to score. However, to win, they needed to improve their defense. I imagine they traded Brian Cook for Trevor Ariza to improve their length and quickness on the wing in anticipation of players like Josh Howard, Manu Ginobili, Paul Pierce, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Tracy McGrady and more.

So, the Lakers weakened their defense while strengthening their offense. If Bynum is out for the season, I think it is a great trade. Gasol fills Bynum's role, albeit differently and the Lakers have an opportunity to win a championship. However, when Bynum returns, I don't see how Odom, Gasol and Bynum fit together. If Bynum is out, the Lakers have the rest of the season to decide whether to keep Gasol and trade Odom or vice versa. However, if Bynum returns this season, they have to figure this out on the fly. The Lakers were a contender with Bynum; will this trade mess up their mojo when he returns?

Again, I am not saying it is a bad trade. I am a Gasol fan. If the Lakers can trade Odom for some nice complementary pieces in the off-season, the Lakers have a young, deep, talented, expensive team that should be a contender for the next 3-4 years.

As for Memphis, while most in the media laugh at their ineptitude, remember the Suns. Everyone said, at the time, that the Knicks stole Marbury from Phoenix and Phoenix barely got anything in return. Of course, they got cap room which led to Steve Nash, while the Knicks got more headaches than they can handle. Can anyone name a player Phoenix received in the trade (I can name two and neither are in the NBA)? However, does anyone still think the Knicks won the trade?

If, and it is a big if, Memphis uses the cap space to sign a player like Elton Brand, Antwan Jamison or Gibert Arenas and they hit the jackpot in the lottery, won't they potentially be a better team next year and moving forward? After all, who did the Trailblazers get for Zach Randolph? Yet, who won that trade? Think P-Town is upset that they gave Randolph away for a back-up center and a player who they bought out before he could even fly into town?

So, Memphis signs Brand, Jamison or Arenas and drafts a top prospect like Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Danillo Galinari or Roy Hibbert. Plus, they have the Lakers' pick to select another prospect like Brandon Rush, Ryan Anderson, Bill Walker (Walker and Mayo together?), Hasheem Thabeet or another player who fits their roster. Plus, they add Marc Gasol and use Crittendon, Lowery or Conley as trade bait.

Imagine the possibilities: draft Rose and trade Conley (Portland, anyone?); draft Mayo or Gordon and trade Mike Miller (Cleveland on line 1; what about Miller and Crittendon for Anderson Vareajo?); draft Beasley and have two quick, versatile forwards to play in Ivaroni's supposedly up-tempo offense.

Even without a free agent signing, Conley, Miller, Gay, Beasley and Milicic with JC Navarro, Lowery, a player like Ryan Anderson and Gasol is a young, talented, versatile roster.

Of course, those are some big ifs. Trading for cap space only works if you use the cap space to sign some players. Trading for draft picks only works if you draft great players with the picks. Until Memphis makes its picks and its offers in free agency, the Lakers are the clear winners. However, if the trade messes with the Lakers mojo when Bynum returns and Memphis makes some great moves and picks, those laughing at the Grizz right now, like they did at the Suns when they traded Starbury, might have to apologize.

Regardless, it will be an eventful off-season for both of these teams, as I cannot imagine that LA will be able to keep Odom, Gasol and Bryant with Bynum's contract needing to be renewed and obviously the Grizz have a lot of work to do.

All-Star Snubs

The NBA announced its All-Star reserves yesterday and based on watching games last night, it seems the media is most surprised at the exclusion of Ray Allen and Marcus Camby. Denver is an average Western Conference team that does not, by any stretch of anyone's imagination, deserve three all-stars. If you want Camby to be an all-star, at least lead your division at this point in the season. Denver is not even a play-off lock right now. As for Allen, maybe. After all, Boston has been the story of the year. However, I feel the biggest snubs were Jose Calderon and Deron Williams.

I am a big Calderon fan and cannot understand why rumors suggest Toronto considered trading him before Ford's injury. As I have written before, he is clearly one of the most underrated players in the NBA.

As for Williams, making the Western Conference is considerably tougher. However, if the discussion all season has been who is the NBA's best PG - Williams, Nash or Paul - how does he get left off the roster? However, I am glad that Brandon Roy, who I maintained would be the best player from the 2006 NBA Draft, made the team.