New Jersey is 0-16, and will probably be beat in the next two games to go to 0-18, why would you want to cheer for them? How depressing. Perhaps they will get that first win against the Bobcats or Knicks. Go with Dallas, they are the best out of all of those teams. Though the Rockets are an interesting, gritty hard nosed team.
I'm leaning towards the Rockets actually. I remember being like 10 and being amazed at how awesome Hakeem was back in the finals those two years in the mid-90s, plus McGrady is pretty awesome.
Apparently the general consensus is that McGrady is actually a huge diva, isn't as great as he once claimed to be, and needs to leave Houston. Oops. I've read that the Knicks were pretty interested in him this past summer. Anyone see/hear/make up anything else?
There's probably an argument to be made that Tmac's getting shafted by Morey, et al, but I don't buy it. I don't know how much you read about how he dealt with the announcement of his knee injury last year, but it didn't win him many supporters in Houston. I think all it comes down to now is how to Houston get the most out of his contract. Do you trade him for young talent and picks or do you let the contract expire and try to make a splash in free agency? I don't think Houston can compete for Lebron or Dwade, but I think they could conceivably go after a guy like Joe Johnson who would be a great fit in Houston and a complement to (a hopefully healthy) Yao. The only value McGrady adds in the near term is his ability to finish games. Right now the Rockets have nobody to go to late in games, Trevor Ariza or Aaron Brooks seem to be our best options, and neither or them has been getting it done.
I think Houston is actually a far more attractive option than it gets credit for. Now that Seattle has moved out of Washington, there are only six teams in the NBA that play in states without a personal income tax: Memphis (TN), Orlando and Miami (FL), and Dallas/San Antonio/Houston (TX). That means as a matter of simple finances playing for one of those teams means millions more in real dollars for any player who signs with that team. (This is one of just several reasons the Spurs have been able to sign veteran free agents and lowball rookie draft picks.*) It's a far more considerable advantage for those few NBA teams than people realize, especially in these financial times. That's the biggest reason I suspect Wade isn't going anywhere and why I think the Rockets should hang on to McGrady for the rest of the year. I've changed my tune on that recently based on how well the Rockets are playing without Yao, and I'm okay admitting that two months ago I would have traded T-Mac in a heartbeat. The only downside is having to deal with McGrady himself who will understandably want to get back on the court to play his way to another gig in the offseason. But that drama aside, the Rockets have a very attractive nucleus for someone like Bosh or Johnson to consider playing with. *NBA 1st Round picks are allowed to sign for up to 125% of their prescribed slotted salaries and if I recall correctly, only three draft picks have ever signed for less than that. Two of them are George Hill and Ian Mahinmi.
Can't players claim residency in another state? Isn't that why a lot of professional athletes keep homes in Florida? I think there was something about Arod doing this several months back in the news.
Living in Florida or Texas in the offseason might have some ancillary tax benefits, but generally speaking players are subject to taxes by the state in which they earn their salaries. It's not like Shaq can escape paying Ohio income taxes because he spends the summer on Star Island. EDIT: I don't know what article you're referring to, but I'm guessing A-Rod and others probably benefit from endorsement income because they'd presumably be working as independent contractors. That could be considerable for a select few athletes, no doubt.
Yes the Nets suck, but Brook Lopez is a more athletic Brad Daugherty with less assists and more blocks.
Greg Oden breaks kneecap, is done for the season. That's some bad luck there, but honestly, the Blazers should have known better drafting him. There were some pretty scary stories coming out about his legs before the draft.
And to make it worse it's not the same knee as his previous surgery. So now a season ending knee injury to each knee.
Tim Donaghy appeared on 60 minutes. His main assertion: While he bet on games he was reffing, he never manipulated them. He claimed he could predict the outcome of games with 60-80 percent accuracy simply because of inside information and knowledge of personal biases. The FBI AND the NBA backed up his assertion. And I'm afraid to say it, but I actually believe the guy.
Hindsight is easily 20-20, but there is absolutely NO WAY you don't draft Oden #1 coming out of Ohio St. The dude was a physical freak, a dominating force on the defensive end, and basically a once-a-generation player. I had the misfortune of coaching against him in high school AAU and he was without a doubt, the best player I had ever seen before or since. There is not 1 GM I can imagine that would have passed on him of given the chance.
What you saw in person obviously trumps what I read, but I remember there being several ominous articles written where the writer (who saw him in person) described the way he walked like an old man, and in general appeared unsteady on his own feet. If I was a GM, I would have taken Durant, no questions asked. I said that before the draft, I said that after; I went with the bird in hand theory, even if the two in the bush had much more potential. But, like anything, once you see it in person your perspective changes. It requires no suspension of disbelief to understand that he probably was just incredible. I just feel bad for the guy. I like the Blazers, I liked Oden, and I wanted them both to be good. Unfortunately, it looks like he's down for a while with this... I just have to wonder, how much of this bad luck, psychologically, can a young guy like Oden take before he breaks? I don't think he'll be finished for his career, physically, by a long shot. But mentally? I'm not sure.
Truehoop has debunked a lot of Donaghy said, as well as the FBI saying that they didn't check his stats for truth because they were more interested in the Gambini crime family. He seems kind of dishonest. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... s-on-trial http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_ ... e-research
Golden State Warriors. Yeah they are suck. I could not stand to look at all these posts where you are complaining about how your teams are missing on piece to win it all or having one player causing problems, when my team is full of nothing about missing pieces and problem players. It has been a long year already and no hope in sight.
I saw him a few times around Ohio State campus (lived an hour away, had a ton of friends that went there) and while he didn't really walk like an old man, he definitely walked like a gigantically tall dude with skinny legs, as in, unsteady on the feet. The guy was as nice as could be, but I'm with you man, no way am I taking him over Durant. Before he got drafted I would have bet 1,000 dollars(something I offered to the Ohio State homers, no takers) he would have MAJOR leg issues within a year. Sure enough...
This Greg Oden injury talk got me to thinking about how early the players are being taken in the draft now. Back in the days before electricity, players usually stayed for 4 years and by the time they went to the NBA or ABA (I told you it was long ago) Their bodies had matured and were probably better able to withstand an 82 game season. In addition the teams had a chance to see how the players health stood up in college and maybe were a bit more selective on whom they took early. One exception I remember was Bill Walton. Anyone who saw UCLA play during those years knew that as much talent he had, his body was not going to let him play for a very long time. Portland took a chance and had two injury riddled seasons with the man, till he had a healthy year and won a championship. Of course the next year he was injured and the year after split his foot in half in a playoff game. I wonder if Oden should have stayed in school to let his body mature while only playing 26 games or so. He could have worked on his fundamentals and maybe learned how to play a game that was easier on his body. I am sure he could have survived on $200,000 a year from the Ohio State supporters.
Still in disbelief over last night. Came so close to beating the mighty Lakers. Someone should've tossed a 19-year-old white girl on the court during the last possession. Kobe would've bricked it for sure.
Thanks to Gilbert Arenas' unique sense of humor, all eyes were on the Washington Wizards' high-stakes spades games instead of this crucial development out of Golden State: <a class="postlink" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4796059" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4796059</a> Way to throw in the towel in January, Nellie.
On the contrary, Oden should have been drafted out of middle school straight to the NBA while he still had the body of a 28yr old man. I fully expect Greg Oden to be in a permanent wheelchair by 25 and dead of old age by 30 (That said, that is the nicest guy in the world and I actually hope he can produce at least one years worth of numbers to show what he's capable of. Which is A LOT). Early predictions for the awards this year? Too soon? Oh well: Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans 6th man: Carl Landry (maybe eating Dirk's elbow will garner him some overdue praise) Defensive POY: Dwight Howard (too dominant, sorry Josh Smith) MVP: Kobe (I have grown a newfound hatred of LBJ this year) Most Improved Player: Aaron Brooks and Joakim jump out... I'll go with Joakim Noah just because that ugly rat bastard has more heart than he knows what to do with and is great for the league.