The Perpetual NBA Thread

[ssaloon]

I still dont get it? Financially it doesn't make sense. It's really a gamble on the part of Phoenix. And saying that they "just run a 4-man fastbreak" is kinda justifying the crime...

[RedCoder1]

I still dont get it? Financially it doesn't make sense. It's really a gamble on the part of Phoenix. And saying that they "just run a 4-man fastbreak" is kinda justifying the crime...

The court's wide open when you run a fast break.Defensive positions aren't established yet.When you run on a fast break I think two or three people is enough.It's just a matter of positioning and, of course, skill on the part of the people doing it and I think that's what Phoenix is known for.Imagine Nash running the break with Barbosa and Amare.Defense not yet established, still spread.Parang expresway ang daan papunta sa ring.May mga sasakyan(the defense) pero ilan pa lang at syempre maluwang ang daan.What are the chances that they'll miss the deuce in a situation like that?Pag naunahan ng depensa antay kay Shaq.Hanap ng ibang options.At least now they have a big guy in the middle who is a scoring option(sana nga) at hindi laging asa na lang sa fast break nila.Nakakapagod din naman kasi talaga pag takbo nang takbo.At least hindi na sila laging laspag pagkatapos ng laro.Ngayon pwede na sila magmabagal kung gusto nila.I just hope Shaq can still deliver.

[ILuvDetailing]

Basketball wise this trade doesn't make too much sense, why trade away a super athlete in Marion who's their best defender, and utility guy for an aging 36 year old C on his last legs.

I was hoping that Phoenix give it another go this season with Grant Hill on board, then decide in the offseason whether to go in another direction.

Experts say they made this deal because they need a defensive presence, well they already thad that defensive presence in Kurt Thomas who they traded away in the offseason because they don't want to go over the luxury tax. That alone makes this trade even more of a surprise because shaq has still 2 years and 40M left on his contract. Also if you looked at games vs elite big men this season, Shaq's been picking up quick fouls early in games, forcing him to the bench early during games. 8M vs 20M do the math...

On the other side of the coin Phoenix wouldn't make this deal if Marion isn't pouting behind the scenes not being given enough credit for the teams success or being the third wheel behind Nash and Amare. I guess this has become a big issue behind the scenes that forced kerr's hand into doing this trade.

I hope that Shaq and Grant Hill will hold up for the regular season and playoffs, for them to make that Title run for this trade to be justified for the Phoenix Suns.

[tsupermario]

i think phoenix deemed marion expendable because of diaw. they do need someone big in the middle. if the experiment fails, blame is on steve kerr.

[theveed]

Well, Kerr has balls to gamble on this... Shaq only needs to provide "adequate" support to get the Suns to the Finals to make the deal "good" anyway... If they win just one championship (fluke or not), then everything is "validated"...

[Eismann]

No GM has more balls than Kerr on this move. Another Suns-Lakers classic in the playoffs.

[kimpOy]

quotes quotes quotes

"He (marion) has been playing a style out there where there is a shot every seven seconds,"
"Here, he's gonna think we're all playing in concrete boots.
-PAT RILEY

"I'm very upset,"
"You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things -- like win championships."
"This team has always been there in the Western Conference,"........."They just couldn't quite get over the hump. I think with my experience and my on the court-off the court leadership, I can help them get over the hump."
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

[ILuvDetailing]

Shaq is a very proud man, the question is can he back up all his bark?

we'll soon find out...

[theveed]

Kidd appears headed to Mavericks in blockbuster deal
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer
February 13, 2008

DALLAS (AP) -- Jason Kidd appears headed back to where his career began, rejoining the Dallas Mavericks in the latest Western Conference megatrade.
Kidd is the centerpiece of a proposed deal between the Mavericks and New Jersey. Various media reports say Dallas will send emerging point guard Devin Harris, veteran Jerry Stackhouse and reserves DeSagana Diop, Devean George and Maurice Ager to the Nets, with forward Malik Allen going from New Jersey to the Mavericks.


The details still were being worked out, but Stackhouse said his agent told him the trade would be completed.


"Now I think it's pretty much a done deal," Stackhouse told The Associated Press.


Stackhouse added that he may be able to rejoin Dallas within 30 days, an indication the Nets would buy out his contract.
"I feel great. I get 30 days to rest, then I'll be right back," he said. "I ain't going nowhere."
By adding Kidd, the



Mavericks are clearly in a win-now mode. He is 10 years older than the 24-year-old Harris, but also far more ready to lead a team on a title hunt. Dallas has been close in recent years, losing in the NBA finals in 2006, then winning 67 games last season before flaming out in the first round.


Mavs officials were reluctant to shake up their core, but a recent slump and some big additions by Western Conference rivals may have helped change their minds.


"I think Devin has a lot of upside, but Jason Kidd is the type of all-league point guard our teams needs," Stackhouse said. "We just need a jolt. Adding a player like him can re-energize a team, hopefully."


Dallas and New Jersey were in serious talks about Kidd earlier this month. Stackhouse said it was almost nailed down Tuesday night, then called off, only to be revived again Wednesday morning.


The top teams in the West have stocked up their rosters in recent weeks. The Lakers got things rolling by plucking Pau Gasol from Memphis and last week Phoenix traded for Shaquille O'Neal. San Antonio added point guard Damon Stoudemire to its rotation.


Mavs brass resisted overhauling the team in the offseason and held steady the last few months. Whether it was the team's sloppy play of late or to counter the moves made by their rivals, owner Mark Cuban finally felt the time was right.


Dallas (34-17) was tied with the Lakers for the third-best record in the West going into Wednesday night's game against Portland, but was coming off two ugly losses -- one against Kidd and the Nets on Sunday -- and has yet to play up to coach Avery Johnson's expectations for long stretches.



Their recent slide was partly because Harris has been out with an ankle injury.


"It's been kind of stagnant all season," Stackhouse said. "I think you just try to find the right piece. Maybe this is the right piece that really helps our team, that gets our scorers easy opportunities. Getting Pau or Shaq wouldn't have helped that case. Getting a point guard, that gets you easy opportunities. It solves that issue for us."


Kidd has been looking to get out of New Jersey for months. The Nets are 23-29 and unlikely to be contenders in the East, like he made them for most of his tenure.


Kidd led New Jersey to the NBA finals in each of his first two seasons there, but the Nets haven't gotten past the second round of the playoffs since.
Kidd's arrival should be a boon to reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki, providing him with the easy baskets he used to get when teamed with Steve Nash. His presence also will open things up for Josh Howard, plus let Jason Terry spend more time at shooting guard.


Harris' numbers have gone up in each of his four seasons, helping him earn a five-year contract worth roughly $42 million prior to this season.
However, he's nowhere near the distributor Kidd is, nor is he liable to get a triple-double. He may eventually have that well-rounded of a game, but the Mavericks decided they couldn't wait.
Losing Diop hurts Dallas' front line, as he is the primary backup to starting center Erick Dampier. However, Diop -- who is a free agent after this season -- had fallen out of favor with Johnson lately.


George, also headed toward free agency, was in his second season with the Mavericks, but never found his niche because of injuries and a logjam at the small forward-shooting guard spots. Ager was another in that crowded mix. In his second year from Michigan State, he never worked his way into the rotation and recently was sent to the NBA Development League.
Allen was averaging 5.4 points in almost 16 minutes per game for New Jersey this season.


Kidd broke into the league in 1994-95 when Dallas made him the third overall pick. He was voted co-Rookie of the Year, but the club was such a mess it was better known as the Mav-wrecks. In fact, it was the trade of Kidd to the Phoenix Suns in December 1996 that convinced ownership to lure Don Nelson out of retirement, a hire that ultimately put Dallas back among the NBA's elite clubs.






Magagalit nanaman Popovich neto hehehe....

[theveed]

For the Nets, this clears cap space next season. It will allow them to re-sign forward Nenad Krstic and start rebuilding the franchise after seven straight playoff appearances with Kidd. The Nets are still discussing a Vince Carter-Jermaine O’Neal trade with the Indiana Pacers, but two sources close to those discussions placed odds below 50 percent. According to one source, the Nets have gone so far as talking to O’Neal’s doctors in Indiana about the state of his troubled knee.

[cardo]

Kidd trade hits a snag!

All because of Devean's contract haha

[ILuvDetailing]

the Kidd trade is still has legs...

Hours after vetoing the trade that would bring Jason Kidd to Dallas, Devean George missed all 11 of his shots after starting for the Mavericks on Wednesday.

:evillaugh

Wow. George said afterwards that his decision to block the trade is not final, and that he wants to have time to talk to agent Mark Bartelstein, who will explain to George exactly what he'd be giving up by waiving his no-trade rights. "He wants to wait until I talk to him and he explains everything to me about what's going on before we do anything," George said. "I'm the bad guy that's holding things up." Well, he could lessen the blow slightly by hitting some shots when he gets a rare start for Dallas.

[shadow]

on shaq-phoenix trade, IMO it's a good deal, they have marion for the past several seasons did they win any champioship? shaq will give them a solid presence in the middle which any western team needs come playoff time... it's a little tweak that might bring them all the way...

on george's veto power...way to go!!!! :rockon:

mark cuban :****::****:

I think george is still gold and purple at heart and still trying to protect the lakers...hehehehe

[empy]

basta as a Heat fan masaya ako sa trade...i thought we couldn't give Shaq away because of his terrible contract and quickly declining production...to get one of the league's most underrated and versatile stars is no less than a steal.

this may prove to be a genius move or a colossal blunder for the Suns, but for the Heat it's nothing but upside. they weren't going anywhere with Shaq, and Marion actually provides them financial flexibility (FA next season) :clap:

[theveed]

uh oh...

Bryant chooses rest over surgery for injured finger
February 14, 2008 EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Kobe Bryant was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right pinkie finger Thursday and the Lakers All-Star has decided not to undergo surgery that could sideline him for six weeks.
The damage occurred when Bryant dislocated the finger at New Jersey on Feb. 5, and was aggravated in Wednesday night's game at Minnesota.
The team said Thursday that the damage was more extensive than first believed. There is a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament and avulsion fracture, in which a small bone fragment had been pulled off by a tendon.
[SIZE=-2]ADVERTISEMENT[/SIZE]
Bryant was examined in Los Angeles by Dr. Steven Shin, a hand specialist who recommended surgery to repair the ligament.
"My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days, and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest," Bryant said in statement.
"I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But this is an injury that myself and the Lakers medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis."
It was unclear if Bryant will play in Sunday's All-Game at New Orleans. But he will skip the 3-point shooting contest, with Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas replacing him.






As for the Heat, I think they stole Marion, as long as he re-signs with the Heat next year...


If they can only grab a young Zo-like rebounder and defensive player, they'll go far in the east...

[cardo]

If they can only grab a young Zo-like rebounder and defensive player, they'll go far in the east...

ben wallace?

[theveed]

Zo like, hindi Fro-like hehehe

[theveed]

Hehe... Yari

League to look at Stackhouse's comments
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
February 15, 2008 NEW ORLEANS – As the New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks feverishly worked to convince Devean George to join in the trade for Jason Kidd on Thursday, there suddenly loomed another issue that could obliterate the proposed deal: the loose lips of Jerry Stackhouse.


The NBA will investigate the possibility the Mavericks and Stackhouse violated league rules with a pre-arranged agreement for the forward to return to Dallas after reaching a contract buyout in New Jersey and sitting out the 30-day waiting period, sources said. Several league sources said the NBA will consider forbidding Stackhouse to re-sign with the Mavericks this season as punishment for public comments the forward made on Wednesday that suggested tampering could’ve occurred.


If it comes to that, the deal is dead. Dallas owner Mark Cuban wouldn’t complete the trade for Kidd without a belief that he could eventually bring back Stackhouse this season. Ultimately, sources say, Mavericks management decided that losing Stackhouse would be too hard of a hit to the Mavericks’ depth, too steep a price to pay for Kidd.


For the Mavericks, the trouble started when Stackhouse, 33, gave an interview to the Associated Press on Wednesday that suggested there was a plan for how his trade, buyout and eventual re-signing with Dallas would unfold.
Stackhouse said that he was only part of the deal “to make the numbers work.”

What’s more, he said, “I feel great. I get 30 days to rest then I’ll be right back. I ain’t going nowhere.”

Even if George changes his mind on Friday about agreeing to waive his “Early Larry Bird Rights” and accept the trade to New Jersey, sources said the league office will not immediately approve the trade. With angry rival executives across the league expressing outrage over Stackhouse’s comments, as well as the NBA’s own issues and suspicions with the comments, Senior VP of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson is obligated to look deeper into the matter.

The NBA doesn’t allow such pre-arranged agreements. The rest of the league is required to have a fair chance to sign Stackhouse in the 30 days before he’s eligible to re-sign with the Mavericks. It doesn’t help appearances that Stackhouse and Kidd share the same agent, Jeff Schwartz.


When several league executives read Stackhouse’s comments on Wednesday, they were irate and privately promised to protest if Stackhouse ends up passing on league-wide offers and returns to the Mavericks.


“It sounds like a side deal, doesn’t it?” one Eastern Conference executive said. “The league will have a lot of explaining to do if Stackhouse goes back to Dallas.”


Another general manager said, “I thought it was the most blatant statement someone could make about a trade. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the league disallowed Stackhouse to go back to Dallas. Stackhouse is too impulsive and is prone to say stuff like that which could really end up hurting Dallas.”


Finally, a third GM said, “It’s caused a lot of people to wonder how they could get away with that, how those kind of pre-existing arrangements can be allowed.”
For now, it is clear the trade that would send Kidd and Malik Allen to Dallas for George, Stackhouse, Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop and Maurice Ager, two first-round picks and $3 million is stuck. Before the Mavericks’ 109-97 loss to the Suns in Phoenix on Thursday night, agent Mark Bartelstein insisted that his client hadn’t changed his mind about vetoing his trade to the Nets.


“There’s nothing new,” Bartelstein said. “Right now, he’s just focusing on playing for the Mavericks.”


Between now and next Thursday’s trade deadline, the Nets and Mavericks are exploring scenarios that still include George and a sign-and-trade with Keith Van Horn, but the Stackhouse case could make everything else irrelevant. Across the league, there’s a belief that Stackhouse revealed too much with this words and the NBA plans to take a hard look and ask the obvious question: Is there strong enough evidence of a pre-existing agreement between the Mavericks and Stackhouse that deserves punishment? If they league decides there is, and refuses to let him re-sign with the Mavericks, the results could be devastating for Dallas.


No trade.


No Kidd.


It would be a steep price to pay for the loose lips of Jerry Stackhouse.

[theveed]

Hawks to send 4 players to Kings for point guard Bibby
By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer
February 16, 2008
AP - Feb 16, 4:38 pm EST
More Photos

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atlanta Hawks traded four players and a draft pick on Saturday for Mike Bibby, the point guard they hope will end the league's longest streak without a playoff appearance.


The Hawks sent starting point guard Anthony Johnson, 2007 first-round pick Shelden Williams, backup point guard Tyronn Lue, veteran forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick to the Kings.
The trade is pending league approval and physicals.


Hawks spokeman Arthur Triche said Bibby is expected to join the team in Los Angeles on Monday, where he will have his physical. The Hawks play at the Lakers on Tuesday night.


Bibby, a 10-year veteran, missed the start of the season with a thumb injury but is averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 assists in 15 games.


"I want to thank Mike for his terrific all-around play," Kings president Geoff Petrie said in a statement. "He's had a great run here as a King and has participated in and contributed to some great moments on the court and I wish him all the best."


One of the Hawks' owners, Michael Gearon Jr., said his team's new backcourt of Bibby and All-Star Joe Johnson "will be as good as any in the East."


"I think Bibby will be one of the top three point guards in the East," Gearon said.


"He's capable of going one-on-one, hitting clutch shots, breaking defenses and leading this team."


The Hawks, in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and percentage points behind the eighth and final playoff spot, are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 1999.



Also on Saturday, the Kings requested waivers on forward Justin Williams and guard Dahntay Jones.


"We're excited about adding another young frontcourt player who was the fifth pick of the 2006 draft in Williams, along with some experienced veterans to the team," Petrie said. "We're looking forward to seeing how they integrate in with the rest of our roster."

[chain]

interesting comments by david stern on the stackhouse issue.

anyway, nice trade by atlanta to get bibby.