booth52

#12. Elton Brand

2005-10-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

#12. Elton Brand
Position: PF
Ht/Wt: 6'-8" 275lbs
Age: 26

Career Stats:
19.5ppg
10.4rpg
2.0bpg
1.10psa

Fun Fact:
Apparently the Clippers = Cameron West with Brand being joined by fellow Devils Maggette, Daniel Ewing, and Shaun Livingston, who went against The Family when he bolted to the NBA.

Fun prediction:
The Brand & Maggette combo, along with Mobley, Livingston, and a rejuvenated Samiam, will take the Clippers to the playoffs. On the brink of advancing past the 1st round however, midseason pick up Trajan Langdon will choke in the closing minutes and foil Duk... errr, the Clipper's championship dreams.

Stepping into the confession booth

2005-10-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Alright. Let's just get this out of the f**king way right now. I did NOT have Manu in my top 10. Let's all take off the homer glasses for just a second and acknowledge that The Sickness did have The Timmeh's help, along with that of a wee frenchman, the defensive ankle breaker that be Bruce Bowen, and of course the ever under-rated Raaaaashoo!

In MY LIST, I had Ginobili #15. Rightfully a respectful distance from the top 10.

Ray Allen was #19.

Yes. Manu is better than Ray. You may now step up and rip off my Sonics badge of loyalty. I hope someone can take satisfaction from that sentence.

Ever so briefly, what are some of the more popular opinions on why Sugar Ray should be considered better than Manu?

-He's the superstar! the guy on the team that not only fills up the stat sheets, but breaks backs, nails coffins and seals fates of opposing teams when it comes to The Crunch. And yes, truly it is a responsibility only an elite few can carry on their shoulders (unlike Dy-Lan "the whole world rests on my shoulders!" of Da Band fame).

And yes, this is true of Ray. The Kings game in which he was hearing signals from outer space comes to mind. More importantly Rashard's panty performance in that same series.... don't even get me started. Only proves the importance of having someone who won't wet himself when a Man is needed. There IS something to be said for having a guy willing and able to make the big shot.

And 05 playoffs/finals Manu did exactly that.

-But Ray's a waaay better offensive player, right?
Ummm, not really.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/ginobma01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allenra02.html

While Ray undoubtedly is one of the game's pre-eminent pure shooters, Manu averages more pts per shot attempt, and has a higher usage rating than Allen. I'll say it again, as great an offensive talent as Ray is, he'd be even better if he drove in more often and took advantage of his gawdy FT%. I mean, does anyone even remember that Ray partook in the Slam Dunk contest once!? Do you Ray? Huh? Do ya?! In de face Ray! Shoot it in de face of that damn muther bastard!! At least once in a while please!

-But surely age will catch up to the balding Sickness right!!
Manu: 27
Ray: 29
To do list for Senor Allen: call up MJ and Reggie and learn the ancient art of The Basketball Crane: ye' olde fadeaway jumpshot with leg overly extended to catch the defenders body and get to the line move.

-He's a better defen...
Uhhh. No.

That about sums it up.

Oh yeah. F**k Manu. F**k Bowens. F**k TP. F**k you and your whole MF'ing crew. Thug life 4-eva beeyatch!

go sonics!! yeahh!!

and back to our regularly scheduled program.

#11. Andre Kirilenko
Position: SF
Ht/Wt: 6'-9" 220lbs
Age: 24
Nicknames: hmmm...
Fun facts: Shiba's website is best seen to be fully appreciated. If I interpret correctly Alfredo's fantasy world would include endlessly playing with children, spending countless hours on the computer, and owning a menagerie of dogs, horses, pumas, and jaguars (move over Jacko, you've got company.) He also likes dill, ice cream, and non-alchoholic cocktails. (that'll be one cosmopolitan bartender... with a cherry and umbrella please.)

The skinny on The Skinny: 1.15PSA, 13.4ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.2apg, 2.4bpg in 30.6mpg career averages. And a damn fine defender and teammate. With great hairstyles.

#9 Dirk Diggler

2005-08-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

#7. Dirk Nowitzki
Position: PF-C
Ht/Wt: 7'-0"/ 245 lbs
Age: 27
Fun Fact:Enjoys reading and playing the saxophone in his spare time

Dirk Nowitzki. A truly underhyped, underappreciated, offensively unguardable player. Seriously, he's 7'something, has a decent post game, good handles, and a great outside touch (1.16 career PSA). Oh, and he can also hit the 3ball (.375 career). All from the 4-spot. If the late 80's and early 90's were the reign of the Centers, I think it's safe to say that we are somewhere in a PF age of renaissance with Garnett, TD, Nowitkzki, Amare, J.O. and so forth playing in the NBA.

Purely statistically speaking Dirk had the 5th best season in 05, based on Hollinger's PER stat. (just to reiterate, do not misinterpret me by misinterpreting Hollinger and his PER stat. The PER rankings do not directly correlate to best player and I'm not taking it to mean so, just as he's quite often alluded to. Just used as a reference point, so don't misquote me and insult his stat when i throw it out there only as a basis for argument. Now, as we were.)

In 04 Dirk was 9th in PER.
In 03 Dirk was 6th in PER.
Roland Ratings (i.e. +/- goodies)?
In 05 he was 4th
In 04 he was 19th.

If you were to throw all those tidbits into a nonbiased ranking machine, Dirk would definitely have to come in higher than 9th (I actually have him 7th). So why does he drop so low? One word: Defense

But...hooold-up-wait-a-minute! (woot! woot!)

Contrary to popular belief, Dirk ain't that bad a defender. Not only that, but he also ranked above Amare defensively, one of my main reasons for nudging Amare over Dirk in my list. So... where does that leave me?

1) Conclude that I wuz wrong.
2) Conclude that Rosenbaum is nutty.

Naturally, I chose the latter. Kidding. Some things that make me feel comfortable with keeping Amare>Dirk are: with regards to the rosenbaum stat, Amare's name is inconveniently missing, leaving him anywhere between 11-49th on the list. Meaning he theoretically could be the 12th best PF defensively, and leaving a non-existent difference between he and Dirk. And also, I'm still not fully sold that Rosenbaum's stuff, while crazy cool and all, hasn't got all the kinks fixed yet. Another factor that came into play was Dirk's poor performance in 05 playoffs (though I didn't put TOO much value into that)

So, while I begrudgingly admit I may be wrong in throwing Amare over Dirk, KG,TD,Shaq,Kobe, & T-Mac still get the nod over Dirk, IMHO.

And furthermore, I'll freely admit, if Dirk truly is an above average defender, I have no doubts his skinny-scrawny whiteness influenced me into believing he was a weak one-on-one defender that couldn't bang in the paint, provide a tall, physical presence naturally desired from the 4-spot/a guy of his height/wingspan. I would also tend to believe that in strictly looking at his physical ability I discounted a possible edge he had in basketball smahts, i.e. not missing def. assignments, playing good help D.

And on to no. 10.

Should the Sonics match Damien Wilkins' offer sheet?

2005-08-06T11:20:00.001-07:00

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2002423819_soni06.html

Damien Wilkins has supposedly signed a 5yr $15M offer sheet from the T-Wolves. Not coincidental I'm sure, is the fact that former assistant Sonics head coach Dwayne Casey now runs the team in Minnesota.

Because of his Restricted Free Agent status, the Sonics' have the option of matching that offer and keeping him.

Here are some comments from devoted Sonics' fans at the Sonics P.I. forum (here's another one done a while back as well when rumors of him going to Portland started circulating) and other places that both root for and against matching the offer:

Here are some general thoughts on why the offer shouldn't be matched:

1. Wilkins turned an above his normal ability-type post season into a gawdy contract he's not deserving of/capable of backing up with a consistent performance
2. 15M/3M per year is overpaying for someone of Wilkins caliber
3. Furthermore, that type of money is overpaying for a role player
4. He ain't that good (tied to 1... and 2... and 3 as well I suppose.)

Here's his stats (from my stat site of choice)
Here's ESPN's stat site which shows and allows you to compare his 05 and playoff performance:

With regards to him playing above his head in the playoffs, leading to this contract, that is false. If anything you'd have to argue he played above his head in both the playoffs and the regular season since they were almost identical.

The numbers:
05 Stats: 17.9mpg 6.3ppg 2.3rpg 0.9apg 0.8spg
Neat-O stats: 13.4per .27 3P% .500 TS%

So why exactly are so many fans so excited to pay that man his money? For me, quite simply it was what I saw out of him from watching him play. If I may go generic broadcaster on everyone, this guy played great minutes when given the chance. He showed flashes of brilliance offensively. Showed a keen eye, quick first step, and great on the ball/off the ball defense. Wasn't afraid of the limelight and was willing to take the open shot. He's got that "it" factor folks.

Now, tying into the money... I'm a little too lazy (as usual) to compile the numbers and spit out the average, but if you go through the large NBA team/player salary database at hoopshype you won't find practically any veteran player (i.e. player NOT still tied to a cheap rookie contract or signed off the street/NBDL contract) who makes less than 3M. To say 3M is overpaying for Wilkins is effectively saying that his abilities can easily be matched by a player roaming the non-NBA, non-drafted world, i.e., you can pick up a player either from the draft, or from NBDL league, who is just as good.

And of course, therein lies the difference. Is Damien Wilkins destined to be an overpaid 0-12 min per game 8th-10th man off the bench type player? Forever destined to mediocre status or even worse destined to a Mateen Cleaves-cheerleader-on-the bench-status... for 3M per year? Or will he be a solid 12-20mpg 6-8th man off the bench type guy. Will he be one of those off the bench high energy/change of pace type guys with stats and ability justifying keeping him over filling his role with a much cheaper journeyman type player?

To summarize, I believe:
-Wilkin's 05 post season = 05 regular season = MINIMUM capability of Wilkin's 06 and beyond
-3M per year is not overpaying for a quality role player
-Wilkin's has the potential to be more than just a quality role player

And that's all I have to say about that.

Splitting hairs...

2005-08-05T00:20:00.000-07:00

#7. Tracy McGrady
Position: SG
Ht/Wt: 6'-8" 210lbs
Age: 26
Fun Fact: Part of Tracy's deal with the Rockets is that he has his own jet

Another deviation between myself and Matt on this one. I had T-Mac ahead of Kobe by the narrowest of margins. Thought process:

Here's Kobe's stats.

Kobe has the edge in scoring efficiency, T-Mac has a slight rebounding and blocking ability advantage. Ability to create shots, wether posting up, the pull-up J from downtown, driving in, creating And-1 situations, & highlight reels? Kobe edged him out in this fun stat this year (both top 5) although T-mac has a career edge. Splitting hairs really. Kobe's got 3 rings to T-Mac... so there's THAT too.

To me the decision came down to 3 things: Being the Man i.e. "Clutchability", Defense, and Versatility.

Clutch factor: playoff game on the line, down by x, x:00 minutes, or seconds remaining, who do you want with the ball? Two years ago, I give Kobe the outright edge. But post 05 Season /Playoffs McGrady performance? Post 05 regular season Spurs-Rockets game in which T-Mac scored a gajillion straight points with 30 seconds to pull of the improbable comeback? T-Mac's finally realized he's a great big bear, and is finally using his fangs and claws to tear up NBA rabbits everywhere. He's all growns up peeps.
Advantage: Draw

Defense: Again edge used to be outright Kobe's The generally accepted notion several years ago was that Kobe was a +defender and T-mac had the ability, but was non-committal/lazy on the Def. end. I'm not sure that edge exists anymore. If it does, I would guess the gap is no longer that huge between the two. So, regarding the present/immediate future, guarding SG's I'd call it a slight wash b/n the two, maybe a slight edge to Kobe.
Slight advantage: Kobe (maybe)

BUT, T-Mac is 6'-8" (kobe's 6'-6") with a considerably longer wingspan and, as shown in the Dallas series, has the ability to guard when the occasion dictates, the other teams star SF or PF. I'm not saying he locked Dirk down in that series, but that ability, to me, is a huge plus.
Advantage: T-Mac

Yet again, like the KG over TD choice, I have no problem with others preferring Kobe over T-Mac. But for me, it's T-Mac in 05.

(And if you consider my choice Kobe-hatin' influenced, read on.)

No. 5, With A Bullet

2005-08-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

#5. Shaquille O'Neal
Position: C
Ht/Wt: 7'-1" 300lbs
Age: 22
Nickname: Shaq, Shaq-Fu, The Diesel, Superman, The Big Aristotle
Fun Fact: His name means "little warrior" in Arabic
Fun Fact #2: In his IMDB profile, he is "credited" with both acting and producing Kazaam & Steel.

Coming in at No.5 is a player both myself and Matt pegged in at No. 4.
05 Skinny: 22.9ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.3bpg, 1.17PSA, with a 27.0 PER

Don't really have much more to say about the big guy that wasn't alluded to in my 2 spot post. He's a giant among mere earthlings. A game changing enigma, a game-planning nightmare, and a quote-making machine. His game? Overwhelming, Overpowering, ever-intimidating... yet rarely as entertaining as the AI's and T-Mac's of the league. If he had ever taken my advice he could've had a realistic shot at challenging Jordan for G.O.A.T.. His penalty for such an atrocity is being dropped to #5 on some loser bloggers' list. That is all.

My 7 degrees of Shaquille O'neal connection:
Last week I went with my sister ring shopping in L.A.. We went to all the appropriate and classy joints first like Tiffany's, Blue-Nile.com, (sadly there was no Shane Company, located next to the I-5...) etc... In the end she ended up going with Shaq's personal distributor of duy-mends, Tony.

Tony's shop is located in downtown L.A. The downtown L.A. east of 8-mile. One block away from To-ni's shop some folks were peddling Dianetics (is this where Tom Cruise had his revelation?) to passerbys on the sidewalk, besides a shop selling 50,000 different 2-pac t-shirts for a buck-99. 'Bout a block to To-ni's shop I passed by the largest pile of dog s**t, aptly placed on the middle of the sidewalk, I have ever laid eyes on. It's smell was actually overwhelmed by the piss-foul smell sunk into the sidewalks. His store had the most welcoming steel bars adorning it's windows I've ever seen.

Tony was sporting one of the largest diamond encrusted crucifix's I've personally seen and was wearing a yankee cap, brim flat and to the side, with a throwback jersey. Tony's security guard looked eerily reminiscent of the huge convict Ed Norton got his s**t pushed in by in American History X. Tony's receipt was hand written.

And BTW: Tony had the deals going. If you're ever rolling by downtown L.A. in need of some duy-mends I highly reccommend seeing the guy who outfits Shaqs ears and wrists with the goods.

And now, you have a friend in the diamond business.

(And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming)

Lost in the hooplah...

2005-08-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

The largest trade in NBA history occurred today.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2122976

Heat obtained: Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, and James Posey, Andre Emmet (?)and D.R. to a Roberto Duenas
Grizzlies obtain: Eddie Jones and Raul Lopez
Boston obtained: Curtis Borchart, Qyntel Woods, D.R. to Albert Moralles, (2) 2nd round Heat picks, and cash
Charlotte obtained: Rasual Butler, Kirk Snyder
Utah obtained: Greg Ostertag

Lost in the shuffle is the fact that, hidden in the process, Antoine Walker, he of the <1.00 pps, and minus/minus statistical fame, was given a 6yr-53 MILLION dollar contract, greater than the combined contracts of SAR and Stro Swift. (A run on sentence worthy of a running joke)

That is funny to me.

That is all.

Step Aside Diesel...

2005-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

#3. Amare Stoudemire
Position: PF/C
Ht/Wt: 6'-10" 245lbs
Age: 22
Nickname: S.T.A.T.
Fun Fact:
1st time he dunked: 13yrs old.
1st time he reverse dunked: 14yrs old.
1st time he dunked off the backboard off of a Steve Nash head-bounce pass: 22yrs old.

05 Season Stats: 26.0ppg, 8.9rpg, 1.6bpg, 1.26PSA, 26.6 PER

Impressive? Not really. Not compared to his encore performance in the playoffs:

05 Playoff Stats: 29.9ppg, 10.7rpg, 2.0bpg, 54FG%

Before venturing into this list I felt certain that I would have Shaq in the 3 spot. Several reasons pushed him down, or more appropriately, charged Amare up the list.

1. Relevant stats: All things considered, the two had relatively even super-good years. Shaq clocked out averaging 22.9ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.3bpg, 1.17PSA, with a 27.0 PER. Push comes to shove, I'd give the edge to Shaq. But not by much.
2. Age: Stoudemire: 22, Shaq 32. This needs to be considered to estimate the effects the 32 to 33yrs old transformation will have in Shaq's 05 performance and likewise Stoudemire closing in to the peak 23-29 age group when players tend to shine/get it together/peak, before slowly eroding in ability. Also tied into this is the higher likelihood that Shaq spends considerable time off the court due to injuries.
3. Circumstance: 04 Shaq had 03 Lakers, 08 Kobe, and 100M other reasons to motivate himself to lose some weight and throw down an up yours to the haters!- type season on the masses. Not this time around big fella.
4. The other side of the court: Defense.
Getting lazy, I'll just copy some of what Matt mentioned, for which I agree with wholeheartedly:

DPOY should never, EVER (period) go to a guy under 6'-10". Look, the NBA is not a one-on-one matchup. Being a lockdown perimeter defender will only get you so far if you don't have somebody to funnel towards... a non-negligible part of defense is rebounding... great defensive teams have somebody anchoring the middle. Defending the basket. Blocking and changing shots.

This was the initial reason I was leaning towards shaq initally. Given the option of an outsanding 5 vs. an outstanding 4 of similar talent/ability, I go with 5. And likewise down the line, sizewise. Call it an offshoot of the Bill James' defensive order of difficulty/skill theory (C, SS, CF... uhhh, ballboy, mascot, manager... or something like that).

For two players of abilities as close as Shaq and Stoudemire, Shaq should come out on top in the end because of his ability to effect the game from the defensive end. The problem is, he's no longer THAT dominating a defensive presence. In the 05 Regular Season, Miami actually allowed 1.4 less points per 100 possessions when O'neal was off the court. Opposing teams also shot a better eFG%. The kicker? A majority of these minutes his substitute in the lineup was Michael Doleac (Doleac logged in 1142min compared to Alonzo at 242m, FYI). Caramba. So, while these numbers cannot be used to directly compare him to players on other teams, it does tend to indicate, to me at least, a reduced ability to impact the game as behemoth shot blocking/play altering presence in the middle (be it due to a loss in step or from his tendency to play the most panty pick and roll help defense known to man is your call) and nullifies any position advantage he had in my eyes over Stoudemire.

Years from now you're gonna be telling your grandkids that you were witness to one of the most overpowering forces ever to take the nba hardwood. In my opinion, the odds are about even that you will be referring to Shaquille O'neal circa 99-2001... or Amare Stoudemire circa NOW-2012. Shaquille O'neal 2005 will be nowhere near the discussion.

Sonics to sign PG Rick Bunson

2005-08-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.lockedonsports.blogspot.com/

Quick analysis:
While I would have obviously have preferred to see A.D. back, this to me sounds reasonable over fighting over the table scraps left in the PG FA market that be Earl Watson and Co.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brunsri01.html

Guy is 32 years, saw his most significant playing time last year for which he showed a good Ass/TO ratio and shot the 3 at 37%, the two top qualities I'd like to see from a backup guard, should the sonics implement a similar offense to last year. And since he's only being signed to a 1 yr min. deal, I have no reservations about signing a 30 something backup PG. What's more, choosing not to throw more money at this position may imply that the Sonics will throw enough money to retain the Radman. Cool indeed.

The List

2005-08-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Updated Monday

What started as a simple Sugar Ray vs. Manu debate a couple of months ago has officially mutated into a full blown epidemic. Starting today, myself and Matt at Spursblog will be forming

The List

Question: Rank every single player in the NBA. Best to worst. That simple.

Much like Milwaukee, we're saying f**k it and completely disregarding any form of salary ramifications typically tied to such an experiment. There will be no "Corey Maggette is better than Michael Redd for 90 million different reasons..." arguments (THAT,will proven much more simply with a few simple pluses and minuses) And Upside? You wanna talk about a guy with upside? Watch this...right here! Bam! (yet more royalties going to the SG's way)

Because of the survivor style simplicity of the rules Dwyayayyane Wade will have to prove his merits of being the better Superman sidekick over the Anti-Christ Kobe Effin Bryant based on actual immediate performance/expectations only, and NOT on his abilities to grow into his underoos and eventually becoming The Man.

FYI, the way I interpreted the question was to assume all players were FA's, contracts doled out for all were equal regardless of talent & endorsement disparities. And as simple as it sounds you couldn't imagine the frustration I endured trying to decide between player x over player y * infinite. But I digress.

So, without further adieu....

1. Kevin Garnett
2. Tim Duncan
3. Amare Stoudemire
4. Lebron James
5. Shaquille O'Neal
6. Kobe Bryant
7. Tracy McGrady
8. Dwyayne Wade
9. Dirk Nowitzki
10. Manu Ginobili
11. Andre Kirilenko
12. Elton Brand

Ticketing in at No.1...

2005-08-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

#1. Kay Gee: Kevin Garnett aka The Big Ticket
Position:F-C
Ht: 6'-11"
Age: 28
Fun fact:
Quote from Garnett's Mother: "He was so long. Twenty-three inches."
-Garnett's mother, Shirley Irby in describing the difficulties it took to deliver son Kevin during a 26 hour delievery.

(hehe.)

I'm sure many people who begin reading this will immediately disregard this list altogether from the fact that Timmeh isn't at his proper location, perched atop the list.

But, quite simply, the numbers don't lie:

Top PER ranking 2 of the past 3 years? KG (including last year)

Top Roland Ratings 2 of the past 3 years? KG

Stats over the past 3 years:

Tim Duncan
22.0ppg, 12.1rpg, 3.2apg, 2.7bpg, 0.8 spg and two rings
Kevin Garnett
23.2ppg, 13.6rpg, 5.6apg, 1.7bpg, 1.5stp, and zero rings

The two glaring reasons why I believe so many people discredit the mere notion of KG being better than Duncan are:

1) the rings on Timmeh's fingers
2) the higher consistency at which Duncan has reigned at the top of the hill.

Take a look at the numbers for yourself:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/garneke01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duncati01.html
http://82games.com/rolandratings0405.htm

Over their collective careers, I would wholeheartedly agree with the deafening majority that Duncan indeed has both performed consistently better and accomplished more than KG. But in picking one of the two to build a team around for a one time shot at the 'ship, I don't hesitate in trusting what the numbers show, that in 2003 The Kid finally figured "IT" out and transformed himself from merely mortal all-star to Uber-top 5 player and in seasons 04 & 05 arose even higher to outright take the champeeenship belt, in a Florida-esque tight and controversial manner, from the defending lb4lb title holder Timmeh The Toolman Duncan (A.W.E.S.O.M.-O. says that nickname is lame!).

As stated by Spursblog reader Rocat in this comment debating the issue:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/sungo/112062779717328551/

"..evidently, and quite unbeknownst to me, KGvTD has become an either/or bright line of faith. I happen to think TD is better, maybe. And only a little bit. Let's face it, you don't have to hate one to love the other. They're both extraordinary players...."

I will openly listen to anyone arguing the merits of TD being at the top of their list. I mean seriously, look at his career stats at b-r.com: those are just some silly ridiculous bananas and oranges type numbers and you quite often do forget just how MF'ing great this guy is/has been. But this isn't an argument over who is/will be considered the G.O.A.T., but rather the G.O.Next.Season.

Furthermore, I will not bother to join in on a conversation which considers the argument laughable because of the whole Duncan's 2 rings to none advantage declaring the subject null and void. That is a futile excercise. Let it go, indeed.

And besides, over 3 years that ring total averages out to a measly .008 rings/game. Not even a blip on the radar! (I keed, I keed.)

Now to declare the runner up I hand the conch over to blogger #2...

Falling under the booth52 radar

2005-07-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Throw it down big man!

How on earth did I forget to include this guy in my Sonics offseason gameplan? I could've sworn he was a RFA, but apparently he's for sale to the highest bidder:

Here's the skinny on Stephen Hunter:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/huntest01.html
http://82games.com/04PHO17D.HTM

Briefly the positives to his game for which I'd like to get him in a Sonics uni:
-size: 7'0" with the wingspan similar to Rasheed and Camby
-age: 23
-blocks per 48 min: 4.7
-notes The Cat in The Hat as his favorite book in his nba bio
-price: relatively cheap for the young center/pf with athletic/defensive ability TUP combination type player I covet.

Quick analysis, I'd rank the following accordingly, give or take:
-Chandler (upside bumps him up)
-Camby
-Sam Damme
-Stro Swift
-Stephen Hunter
....
-Eddeee Curreee
....
-Jerome James

Dead or Alive Stephen, you're coming with me. (If I had a choice)

Yup... this is my reader

2005-07-27T01:10:00.000-07:00

(I believe I'm legally bound to pay any possible royalties that booth52.blogspot.com may ever procure to Simmons by now.)

So a couple of months back, a reader who goes by the name of Digby Warmflash (why people choose to use pseudonyms I have noooo idea- booth52.) commented in my introductory post here at booth52. Apparently this jive turkey is trying to pull the same underhanded two faced trick I pulled to the good folks at The Soul: use a well established blog to gain fame and fortune and leave them once you've become a full-blown blogging diva, taking all their s**t with you. (it's mine now! i'm keeping it!)

Jokes on Warmflash: unfortunatley for him he picked a site that:
a) is about as established as my stool after eating 5 alarm wings from Wing Dome
b) has a reader base of about 3, counting my mama... and yours (oooohhh! schnap dawg!)
c) is run by a retard... with exceptional typeing skills.

But I'll humor him anyways. Here's his post, which IS, IMO, certainly well thought out and argued... and hence has no reason whatsoever being here! Read his 1st comment as well, for more insight into his Sonics' thoughts: basic gist was the hoped for 05 following lineup:

Digby's 05 ideal Sonics roster:
The roster would effectively be:
PG: Ridnour, Daniels
SG: Allen, 1st round pick
SF: Lewis, Wilkins
PF: Chandler, Collison
C: Davis, Swift

Not bad. Looove the idea of a core of Allen, Chandler, Lewis... WITH A.D. still in the mix. Unfortunately the Allen contract blew this option out of the water. I think my pre-offseason signing line-up looked 1) not as initially talented, but 2) filled with TUP and promise for a New Hope a couple of years down the road, and 3) most definitely realistic as evidenced by the outcome so far of the offseason.

Booth52's ideal 05 Sonics' lineup:
STARTING PG: A.D. (my homedog bro bro's.)
Backup PG: Ridnour (still would get significant minutes, but having him here allows us to retain Daniels and upgrade the backup PG spot over any other conceivable scenario)
SG: Cuttino Mobley for either a 3 yr 7-8M per year contract (to entice less years) or 4 years at 5-7 per (the dependable Seiko watch in lieu of the gawdy Rolex's in the front display that be Allen/Joe J./Redd (haha), and Hughes)
backup SG/SF: Wilkins (my n**ga. wait a sec, I'm not black. I can't say that. Someone please help me. Seriously. Dawg.)
SF: Lewis (really, it's easy to forget the great season he had after the hooooorible (my best Walton impersonation... I apologize) offseason. Give him a break guys he's only 20-something or other.
SF #1a: Vlad (with liberal amounts of The Radman at the 4 spot in the +/- friendly small lineup we'd employ often)
PF-C: The doppleganger group continues in05 with a lineup of Stro Swift (I'm down on my knees baby, please choose me!), Collison, Evans and/or Fortson
Bench: Swift/ Draft choices and the obligatory cheerleader: Matteen Cleaves.

With cash to spare for an option of another quality player or pocketed for the 06 offseason. My initial thoughts to this lineup were to 1)mimic the depth of last season, which imo, was a key to their success, 2) keep the underrated Radman and Daniels, 3)drop the overpriced Allen, 4)have legitimate semi-valueable trading pieces in expiring contracts or legit talant to wheel and deal as possible at the trading deadline and 5) take full aim at the 06 or 07 'ship. With the core of Vlad/Lewis/Stro hitting their stride, Collison/Rid/Rob Swift (we can pray) and Wilkins donning their racing shoes, and Daniels/Mobley still quite capable at ages 31-32.

(btw, I think upside was quite possibly the most overpriced value of this offseason, as has folded out till know, in-lieu of forgetting to evaluate what's left in the tank of some the NOT old players like SAR, Mobley etc... It wasn't shocking necessarily but one of the more interesting subplots i noticed in the offseason signings, along with the more realistic valuation of bigs, and overvaluation of the so called premiere SG's. I digress.)

A goal and a reasonable method... that's all I'm asking Wally! Puhhlleeeeeese? With a cherry on top???

So yeah, here's his comment:

Booth,Long time no talk.

Got your e-mail a few weeks back. I've been on vacation for the past 3 weeks or so, and before that took a bit of a sabatical from basketball, but eventually came to the conclusion that basketball and basketball statistics are a simplified (and free) form of crack. So here I am.

Since your thread is primarily about Daniels, I'll try to stick mostly to it.

First off, I agree that Daniels is superior to Ridnour. Most valuation metrics support this.

I also think Daniels' $6 million/year contract is fairly valued, although I have doubts as to whether that will be true in 3 years, given the typical declines of PGs at around 32 years of age.

Re-signing both Daniels and Allen, however, at a combined average annual price tag of of just over $22 million/year, doesn't let the team upgrade at where it needs to most in the short-term - the low post.

Had they done so, depending on the order they would have re-signed them, especially Allen, the Sonics would have had about $12 million (and that factors in the elevators built into player contracts) to play with under $49.5 million in order to fill at least 4 roster spots.

Big name post players like Dalembert, Curry, Big Z, Chandler (who must have spooged his pants after the Dalembert deal), and Gadzuric were all unrealistic since each of those would have eaten up at a minimum 75% of the remaining cap space. Also, of that list, Chandler is the only one who appears likely to be worth the bloated contract for the next 4 years.

With those options gone, the Sonics would have then fielded a team looking something like this:

PG - Ridnour and Daniels
SG - Allen and Kittles/J. Barry/best available SG cheaper than R. Murray
SF - Lewis and WilkensPF - Collison and Fortson
C - D. Davis and Swift

The roster would have been filled out by Mateen Cleaves and other filler

This clearly would have been a downgrade from last season, and wouldn't have offered any real upside until (and if) Robert Swift and/or Petro become players.

I think the team, by not re-signing Daniels, still has some ability to maneuver for the near and far future.

I had hoped, perhaps foolishly, back in March that the Sonics could have signed both Allen and Tyson Chandler, but it seems that Chandler's stock rose since then, in part because of Dalembert's ridiculous salary. Also, Chicago would almost certainly have matched any offer for Chandler, especially if Curry were to leave.

At any rate, not handcuffing yourself with Daniels' contract means the team will have, depending on whether they are able to find suitable one-year contracts for this season, possibly $9-10 million to use next summer. Possibilities would include young/productive big men, like Chris Wilcox, Nene, Drew Gooden, Nazr Mohammed.

Basically, in re-signing Allen, considering the financial position of the franchise and the fact that they don't have a MLE to hand out, it seems almost impossib

Digby Warmflash 07.26.05 - 3:18 am #

I'm reserving comment on his take until I can further study this Dale Davis theory, which has caught on like wildfire in the P.I. forums. One thing I WILL say: Tyson Chandler is the clear cut grade D VVS1 jewel of the 05 FA bigs, no matter what speculations Chad Ford continues to drop in his "news articles about the "cream of the big men crop" Sam Damme.

And here's Davis' vitals btw, which I suppose do NOT indicate a need a clear cut need for life support as I initially thought:
http://basketball-reference.com/players/d/davisda01.html
http://82games.com/04IND17D.HTM

So, thanks again to Mr. Digby "I'll be your huckleberry" Warmflash.

Now to go place the over-under in Vegas on when we'll be graced with the digby.com website...

Antonio Daniels to Sign with Wizards

2005-07-19T23:19:00.000-07:00

(Officially pouring some Old E over the casket of the Sonics 2004. I'll never forget you dawg... One. )

Observations:

5 years @ 30M: Slightly above the MLE. Antonio Daniels IS 29. But over the past two years he's had a PERs of 19.7 and 18.0. As stated before... the Booth52 goal for any team should be to assemble a team highly capable of winning a championship.

If you're a Sonics' fan, especially this year, that age thing definitely crosses your mind when thinking about players. Ray Allen 29 going to the big 3-0. Daniels, 29 similarly...

Collison, Ridnour, Swift, Petro.... Lewis to a certain extent. Our young core that we will build around. Our core that will take us to the promised land... What to do, what to do...

IF you believe that the best opportunity for the Sonics at a championship run lays beyond 3 years... I fully concur that Allen and Daniels should have been let go in lieu of other younger options.

I don't think we need to have such a long term goal/mindset. My main problem with the re-signing of Allen, was NOT his age necessarily, but what ability the Sonics could have in assembling a championship caliber lineup around, not him, but his 17M per year contract. It don't work, plain and simple.

Over the next 3 years, Ray Allen and Antonio Daniels, barring injury and not taking into account Daniels' moving to a new roster/gamestyle, should perform at a level similar to this year for the next year or two, and depending on their personal physical ability/health, a slightly to moderately lower level in years thereafter.

Furthermore on A.D.:

For reference, according to the basketball messiah, an "average" player would clock in at a PER of 15 and the uber-good Michael Redd, who got paid a ransom's note by the now uber-good Milwaukee Bucks (harhar) had PER's of 19.9 & 18.3. That Uber-good player would also have a +/- of -2.0 for 04, but hey... $1, $2, $90,000,000, what's the difference amongst friends, right?

And to put the cap on perspective: Luke f***king Ridnour (henceforth the official name for good ol' #8) had PER's of 13.1 and 14.6... and a plus minus stat in his "breakout" 04 year of -7.5. Yeah, yeah... basketball's a team game, it's not played in a vacuum, and stats can't truly take into account the intangibles of the game. So while all y'all who disagree with me hang out in THE REAL WORLD and watch Ridnour execute amazing no look behind the back left handed passes (and casually observe, post missed assignment mind you, opposing point guard X hit an open layup/12' J) cementing the argument that he's officially The S**t, I'll just hang out here with my kooky numbers and dream the dream of a sane Front Office/Coaching staff doing the right thing and offering A.D. the starting job, a 4 YR 22M deal, in essence upgrading both the starting PG position AND the backup starting position for the 05 Sonics over any other possible scenario that could be conjured up. And to reiterate, Luke's a good player. I like having him on the team. Especially at his contract status. But on a championship contending team he's not delegated the role of premier player/starting PG.... ESPECIALLY to the consequence of negating the attaining of a much better player. This outright handing of the starting PG spot to him drives me nuts. He'd be an ideal backup on a championship team. As is, he's an O.K. starting PG on an O.K. team. Alas. Twasn't meant to be.

And ANOTHER thing:

I think that so far the Wizards have had an OUTSTANDING offseason, (primarily due to the fact that they made a dollar out of fifteen cents with that Kwame for Caron trade... NOT due to the fact that I think Kwame's a dud... moreso because all they had was the RFA rights to a player they had no desire whatsoever to bring back):
Gilbert Arenas at 23 at SG
A.D. at PG
Caron at SF
Jamison at the 4 spot
Haywood at the 5 spot

They essentially traded Kwame @ 5M+/-, Hughes 13M+/- for A.D. at 6M & Caron at 2M and player(s) X at remainder....

Seriously... The Arenas/Jamison/Hughes trio, along with Haywood, were eliminated by the Bulls. Even taking into account young players growing and team chemistry coming into play that trio, and more importantly their attached salary, would have never realistically challenged for supremacy in the NBA. Now? They've STILL got a good core, good enough at this moment to be a 5-8 seed, yet with enough flexibility to make other moves, sign other players, and wheel and deal with valuable player/contract commodities. I'm jealous.

And sad.

Sonics annoint Weiss as head coach.

2005-07-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Seattle Supersonics appoint Bob Weiss as 05 Head Coach

Big whoop-tee-frikkin-doo/oh no-the world is ending.

I have no doubts that once the Sonics play according to their talent level assembled and hit the playoffs as an 5-8 seed and lose in the 1st round of the playoffs:
1) the year will be considered a loss, since the team no doubt SHOULD have improved their results from last years squad. I mean, golly, geez, heck! We re-signed Ray Allen! Yay.
2) a large part of the blame of this supposed failure will no doubt fall on the shiny noggin of Weiss. Nevermind all that nonsense about looking at the team assembled folks, when you have a guy like Weiss heading your team, you're destined to... not be good, and when you have Mac-10 you're destined for greatness.

Just for the record, I would've preferred:
a) signing Nate at whatever amount/years PROVIDED the signing did not influence in any way the ability of the team to sign players
b) signing either Casey/Weiss over the rotting corpse that is one time NBA Great Lenny Wilkens. (Lenny, you're soup's getting cold, why don't you come on inside and rest them dogs by the warm fire?)

With regards to Casey over Weiss... my belief is that the more unknown identity in Casey would've presented a more intriguing coaching option. But, of course, I have no knowledge whatsoever of the two, so I really don't give my belief any credit whatsoever. The point made over in The Soul that Weiss has a proven track record of not doing much with a talent base does pose some interesting points.

I took a brief glance at those 3 seasons in Atlanta and I will agree that his prior experience does nothing to suggest he is a good coach. All in all that 90-92 Atlanta squad:
1) did decline in team performance once Weiss took the reigns over from Fratello
2) more of the decline could be attributed to a team remaining stuck in neutral while other teams players' grew up/improved and simply passed them by.
2) I don't think they underperformed by much: i.e. they finished in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference to teams that were as talented, if not moreso than them.

All in all, the Weiss coaching move has been the least intriguing Sonics' related offseason move thus far and, IMHO, will have the most insignifcant effect on the team in comparison to the player signings/non-signings the team makes.

That is all.

booth52 posting schedule

2005-07-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight(7/13/05): My Ideal Sonics' offseason signings

Tomorrow or day after: 05 FA Analysis pt. 1- A closer look at the 2005 Shooting Guard Spending Spree

Weekend: 05 FA Analysis pt. 2- The pendulum shift: Power Forward/Center signings - The disappearance of the NBA Frankenstein?

Next Week: The Official NBA Player Rankings

(note: Schedule subject to delay/postponement/cancellation due to the whims of booth52/booth52's work schedule/Netflix delivery of Soprano season 5-disc 3&4)

To wet the appetite:
05 Signings:
Ray Allen (5yrs-85M)
Michael Redd (6yrs-90M)
Joe Johnson (5-70M)
Larry Hughes (5-65M)
Mobley (??? 5-42M)

Zadrunas Ilgauskas (5-60M)
Dan Gadzuric (6-36M)
Shareef Abdur Rahim (?-MLE?)
Udonis Haslem (5-33M)
Chandler
Dalembert
Swift

04 Signings
Dampier (7-73M)
Blount (6-42M)
Zach Randolph (6-84M)
Adonal Foyle (5-41.6)
Carlos Boozer (6-68M)
Mehmet Okur (6-50M)
Rasheed Wallace (5-57M)
KMart

Quentin Richardson
Jamal Crawford

There's something going on here... And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it.

just woke up from my after work nap... anything I missed?

2005-07-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Edited Thursday morning:
This is a post I did in may regarding re-signing Nate Mcmillan. I have additional thoughts which I'll add in a new post later today.

http://booth52.blogspot.com/2005/05/nate-mcmillan-dilemma.html

Here's an article from the Tacoma Trib with actual thoughts from Mac-10.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/5004723p-4568679c.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2101994

http://nbaspurs.blogspot.com/2005/07/money-talks.html

http://seattlesupes.blogspot.com/

http://www.supersonicsoul.com/

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/forum/boards/viewtopic.asp?topicid=61850

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/forum/boards/viewtopic.asp?topicid=61859

Woah. I believe I'll need to sit down for this one.

I may talk about this tomorrow. We'll see.

The Ray Allen Contract & The 04-05 Sonics: A Brief(?) Retrospective

2005-07-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

“My job is to get us to the play-offs. What happens after that is f**king luck*.”

Billy Beane in Moneyball.

"We just lost the moon."

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in Apollo 13.

(*Booth-brief sidenote: I am of the firm belief that, while Lewis no doubt quoted Beane correctly, Billy himself does not actually believe that playoff results are solely or primarily based on luck, and furthermore that some of his more recent GM moves have actually been designed to acquire parts specifically designed to increase the probability of winning in the postseason.)

So for those select few NBA & Sonics fans that have been stuck in a vacuum for the day, allow me to enlighten:

Ray Allen has agreed to a 5 yr $80M contract with the Sonics. There is an extra 5M in performance bonuses, which will no doubt kick in when he performs his leadership duties and buys Johan Petro a burrito from Tacos Guaymas and takes Robert Swift suit shopping at Earl’s Big and Tall shop.

Sometimes it’s easier to get somewhere when you know where you want to go. So, to reiterate, here is Booth52’s goal/destination for the Supes:

To put forth a team highly* capable of winning an NBA Championship.
(*highly added in ammendment 1 to the booth52 constitution)

Now, some people may have a different goal. As stated above, Oakland A’s GM and Booth American Idol Billy Beane stated his (implied) goal: to assemble a competitive team able to get to the playoffs (year in and year out). You could go Chris Mullin’s route and have a goal of creating the most overpaid team. Or mimic the Rockets’ organization and attempt to create the U.R.O.A.T.: Ugliest Roster Of All Time. But as for me, I’ll hang out on that limb and have my sights set on becoming a contendah.

So, with that being said, what exactly would/did that entail for the Sonics this offeason?

To answer that question you’d first have to estimate what exactly the Sonics were last season and how close they actually were to being a contender.

Sonics 05:
Record: 52-30 (6th best)
Accomplishments:
-Won NW Division
-Advanced to 2nd round
And the kicker:
-Fought, scrapped and stood toe to toe with the eventual 05 NBA Champ Spurs to 6 games before narrowly losing in 6 games and displaying a gritty, in a highly contested 7 game series. Well, golly geez heck, if it weren’t for a missed Daniels free throw, a Ray Allen shot bouncing the other way, why, we could’ve taken game 6! Momentum, and intangibles would henceforth follow and there’d be game 7 for us too! And since the Spurs beat the Pistons it only makes sense that if we were that close to beating the Spurs, and if we got rolls and bounces that the Spurs got and won that series (hell, as we SHOULD have!)… why, we’d be World Champs right now! And that of course means we were the best team in the NBA last season.

So there you have it: 2005 Sonics: a free throw and a couple of rolls and bounces away from being the best team in the NBA.

In lieu of such daunting evidence, I’d like to do my silly thing and pick some random stat and base my opinions off of them. Here we go. (Spinning the wheel… woooooshhhhhh! Click… Click…… Click. )
04-05 Regular season Team Scoring Differential

Team Pt differential/Game
1 San Antonio Spurs 7.8
2 Phoenix Suns 7.1
3 Miami Heat 6.5
4 Dallas Mavericks 5.7
5 Houston Rockets 4.1
6 Detroit Pistons 3.8
7 Seattle Supersonics 2.4
8 Memphis Grizzlies 2.3
9 Sacramento Kings 2.1
10 Denver Nuggets 2.0
11 Minnesota T-wolves 1.5
12 Chicago Bulls 1.1
13 Boston Celtics 0.9
14 Cleveland Cavaliers 0.8

(Courtesy of Dougstats.com)

So here we have my crazy stat of the night off which I will use to assume the Spurs were the best team of 05 and, coming in 7th, our friendly neighborhood Supersonics. In between the two layeth a 5.4 scoring differential… uhhh…differential. (Delta-U-Delta represent! Woot! Woot!) For those of you unawares that’d be akin to the scoring differential between the Supes and the Seattle Storm (tap, tap… this mike working? All night folks. Be. Here. All. Night.)

I got no more stats to throw your way, but I fully believe if you re-did the 05 season over again a 100 times, a good 90% or so of the time the Spurs would come out on top. Similarly, but accounting for the more volatile outcomes of a smaller sample size, the Spurs, or the best team in the league, would similarly come out on top in the playoffs about, oh 75.28% of the time.

The 05 Sonics? Caught fire in the beginning of the season, flamed out in the middle. All things evened out and we finished 6th in the L record wise. In the playoffs, we tied for 5th-8th place in playoff outcome. And yes, if not for the Spurs going And-1 on us and breaking ankles left and right, and if not for Rashard’s penis inverting into his body to create an orifice we would have had an excellent chance to win, but still at less than 50% odds, to be generous. Hell, I picked ‘em to win. But I was fully aware that I was riding a hot slot (hehe) and going against the odds. The Spurs, while proving to be a very beatable best team in a 7 game series, were the best team in 05 and while they clawed and scraped their way through a 6 game series with the gutty Sonics, and relied on the Magic of Big shot Robert/Bob in the finals, were still the best of the best. And regardless of outcome, the Sonics were the 7th or so best team in the league.

So:
1) Is reassembling a team that was the 7th or so best unit in the NBA adherent to the goal? Or is a gameplan required that provides for the potential for a better team possible of contending?
2) Does resigning Ray Allen to a 5 yr – 80M contract constitute a step towards either assembling a team that will be at least the equal of last years team (giving them a 8.59% likelihood of winning a championship)? Could it even potentially be a step to a team with a better shot at contending?

Answer:
1) Yes. With a twist. (you put the liiiime een de’ coke…) If the Sonics were capable of bringing back/assembling a team that would have a similar talent base/ winning ability, with the added kicker of a healthy Radmanovic (or equivalent) and a Rashard one year removed/wisened by the 05 playoff debacle, I’d take that. Beggars can’t be choosers and quite honestly, that would be the best I could possibly hope for: to have a team get us to another game 6 vs. the champs with another roll of the dice try at 1st place.

2) No. Here’s just one reason why:

The reshaped Sonics landscape:
Assuming 49.5M payroll (est. salary cap)

PG: Luke Ridnour (1.7M)
SG: Ray Allen (16M)
SF: Rashard Lewis (8.5M)
PF: Nick Collison (1.8M)
C: TBA

Bench:
PG: TBA
SG: TBA
SF: TBA
PF: Danny Fortson (6.8M)
C: Robert Swift (1.8M)
X: TBA
X: TBA

Used Cap: 36.6M (see*)
Remaining: 13.5M*
(*This is prolly more if Allen’s contract is spread out in ascending fashion, as is typical.)

So, the Sonics have 13.5M to shape out their roster, to... fill out the rough spots. They have 6 positions to fill. There are a myriad of options that could now be taken, but I’m guessing that the money is gonna be divvied out something as follows:

4.5M+/- on a backup guard
3M +/- to resign the Human Highlight’s younger brother’s cousin’s momma’s stepson’s uncle Damien Wilkins.
4.5M+/- on a center/pseudo PF/Stiff
1.0M on a backup SG/SF/PG pseudo-type-player.
0.3M on Matteen Cleaves
0.3M on cheerleader #2: Kirsten Dunst. (Yeah, that’s right, I went there Matteen! Oh no you di’int! Bring. It. On.)

I see no probable outcome in which an 05-06 team will be a better basketball team than last years. Even assuming that Wilkins can show solid to above average production in 25-32 minutes, assuming Allen matches his 05 output, Lewis continues his ascension, even with an improved Nick Collison, even with a more intellectual Daniel Fortson (you come into this house right this minute young man!) cutting down on his hack act get his minutes ave. up to 13min. a game, even with Luke, you are the chosen one, Ridnour darting pretty no look bounce passes left and right averaging 14, 9, and 6 blown defensive assignments a game…. There is no frikkin frakkin way the team will be close to as good as the 04-05 team. Antonio Daniels, Vladimir Radmanovic, and the magic hanging in the 04-05 air are being seriously downplayed from their roles as key contributors to the Sonics’ success.

And 05-06 will painstakingly prove it.

(for those aiming the "what f**king plan do you have that would put them into contention smartass?" gun my way... short answer: sign 1 or 2 more appropriately compensated to younger talents, resign Radman/Wilkins, hand over the starting spot to A.D. and get his ass back here, and have enough financial/roster flexibility to wheel and deal next offseason. Yes. rebuild and more realistically contend in 1, 2, or even 3 years.)

Like my hopes/goals for the Sonics, I’m out. Like trash on a Thursday.

Seattle Supersonics Resign Ray Allen

2005-07-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

Seattle Supersonics Resign Ray Allen

So it's official... sort of.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2100705

According to Chad Ford, the deal is done. I'm holding off on an analysis until I see the final numbers. But, supposedly

a) it's for 5 years, as opposed to the 6 max
b) it's for more than the 75M initially offered.

Check out an analysis I did back in April. Booth McD nailed the numbers down. But as to his call... Now the question is, is Ray Allen's playoff performance and the Sonics run enough to sway my opinion any? Hmmmm...
http://booth52.blogspot.com/2005/04/talking-jibba-jabba-laying-down.html

Looking back at the 04-05 Lakers... AND responding to maggette comments

2005-07-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

The article:
http://booth52.blogspot.com/2005/07/trade-allen-for-maggette-are-you-nuts.html

The comments:
http://www.haloscan.com/comments/booth52/112002435983925042/

But Kobe/Tmac/Shaq have other offensive weapons with FT being one of them. And a lot of Maggette's FTA come from 1on1 moves, which is detrimental to the team (other players) passing flow. Hense low +/-. I don't know if you've ever played bball at competitive level, playing with a guard that does a lot of 1on1 move and FTs in throughout the game kinda make you moving less without the ball. Kobe's 10+ FT coupled with horrible FG% led them to records worse than the other team in LA.
mrcoffee 07.02.05 - 11:44 pm #

The problem with those stats is you can't take them in a vacuum. You need to take into account the quality of the teams that they're on and the focal point of the opposing team's defensive scheme.Ray posted his numbers as the #1 option on a team that finished first in its division and won 50+ games. Maggette posted his numbers as the second option on a team with a solid post player, that sadly, was one of the worst in the Western Conference.Ray always had the opposing team's best defender on him, and their defenses were always designed to limit him as much as possible. Maggette, on the other hand got his points as Brand passed out of the post or hit him as a cutter.Don't get me wrong, Maggette is a great player. He is a fantastic finisher with a reliable jumper and shot from the line. But he doesn't have nearly the touch that Ray has, or the ball-handling skills, or passing skills, or ability to take over a game and rattle off 13 points in a row.Maggette is a less athletic Desmond Mason with a better jumpshot and slightly better handle. Put Elton Brand on the Sonics and Ray's numbers would improve by a reasonable degree. To say Maggette is close to Ray as a basketball player is quite a reach IMHO.
Guru 07.02.05 - 11:54 pm #

O.K. I was initially typing a response in the comments but my run-on/tangent thoughts type posting habit quite simply got the better of me.

Quick answer: Never played at a competitive level. Not even HS sadly. Just a weekend/after work pickup games at the gym type of guy at my peak, now I hardly get the chance to play. If that automatically disqualifies me in your mind of being able to speak intelligently on the subject, you are free to leave now, no offense taken.

Kobe's 10+ FT coupled with horrible FG% led them to records worse than the other team in LA

Warning: I'm using this one little sentence to break out into a rant I meant to spew previously but somehow got forgot about/misplaced.

-This comment bothers me. Greatly. While I'm NOT trying to stuff words/thoughts into mrcoffee's statement, there is a small implied thought that I get from that sentence that mirrored popular opinion-articles regarding the 05 Lakers and the Anti-Christ Kobe f**king Bryant.

There were several popular opinions out there about the 05 Lakers team:
A) They sucked. Supremely. More appropriately they failed in some underlying set of GOALS predetermined for them that season.
B) The cause of their departure from greatness resides solely to primarily in the body wearing the number 8 jersey for several reasons.
-1. He chased Shaq away. Shaq was the primary reason for the Lakers dynasty. The swing in records seen by the Lakers and Heat is proof that the trade was horrendous. If Shaq had resigned with the Lakers, the team would have still been contenders.
-2. He chased Phil Jackson away. Phil Jackson is a large cause for the Lakers winning ways. With him they would have been a winning team.
-3. He is not a team player.
-4. He is a ballhog, his game is not "winning" basketball.
-5. He is overhyped/not as good a player as many previously/still think.
-6. He is one baaad man. And his wife ain't all dat! Like, ohmigod, do i hate his guts becky!!! Only a Laker/Kobe lover could truly not hate this guy.

1st off, in regards to sucking, yeah, they actually kinda did. They finished 34-48, 11 games out of the 8th spot. I remember Marc Stein's numerous "the Lakers aren't going to get in the playoffs," and all his proud "I told you so" articles after the Lakers proved him right. There were countless other sportswriters who wrote similarly.

What the pundits so easily seemed to glance over in their gloating were the countless other factors. Like, oh, I don't know...
How about injuries?
Games missed:
Bryant: 16 games
Divac: 67 games
George: 67 games
Odom: 16 games
Mihm: 7 games
Grant: 13 games
Walton: 21 games

And what about these missed games:
Tomjanovich: 40 games

So, you have numerous key players missing huge chunks of game, on a team without much real depth in the first place requiring significant playing time from guys with names like brian cook and tierre brown... Your top 2 players miss key games... your in a season of MAJOR transition which include completely changing offensive schemes, roster personnel, coaching etc.... your head coach, widely considered a great coach in his own right, has health complications and is forced to resign... you not only change coaches midseason, but also try to reincorporate some of the triangle offense with a bunch of guys who haven't used it before, to a coach who hasn't used it before... The Lakers had this crapload of stuff dropped on them during the season but it didn't really matter to the beat writers. Shaq (and the Heat) were flourishing in Miami, Kobe (and the Lakers) were floundering in L.A. The only logical response/output to write about was Kobe killed the dynasty/is overrated blah-blibbity-blah-blah-blahblahbaalhbalahhh. It was the soup du jour which was spoonfed/shoved down our throats unmercifully, the topic with the flashy headline, the attention getter, the girl with the tits AND ass, the natural response. Aaaargghh!!! I HAAATE that s**t.

So, to counterpoint:
A) The Lakers didn't actually suck THAT bad. It was widely stated preseason that if the Lakers got an 8 seed it would have been a shocker, and should be considered a positive 1st year step for the new team. While the Lakers did finish 34-48, before a prutal 3-19 season ending slide they were actually 31-29. Throughout much of the season they WERE sitting pretty at the 7 or 8 spot, or at the very least close to it. And to discredit the importance of the factors above for the flashier Kobe's a b***h, Shaq is gone articles was craptacularly bad journalism.
B)
1. The hypothetical 2004-05 Lakers version of Shaq would have been nowhere near the equivalent of the 04-05 Heat version of Shaq. These same writers/observers wrote tons about the chip on shaq's shoulder, the gleam in his eyes, he of something-to-prove status, he listening and obeying GM orders to lose 30lbs and come in shape into the season. That Shaq would have never ever set foot into Staples center wearing a Lakers uni. Never.
2. I'm not a big believer of placing tons of adulation/credit for a teams success/failures on a coach. I personally believe numerous other coaches could have won 6 rings if given the teams Phil was blessed with. If you disagree with that... that's cool... Well F**k you too! ;)
3, 4, & 5. Generic broadcaster mantra #32,670: Great players play on great teams, elevate their teams to winning basketball/greatness. Great players are measured by their teams greatness. This response is getting waaayy too long as is. I'll just simply say to everyone that has downgraded Kevin Garnett from greatness due to the T-wolves miserable season (yeah, I'm talkin to you sports guy! You broke my heart Simmons, you broke my heart.) to everyone who thinks much more lowly of Kobe after this season: remember exactly what you think of them right now. Imprint it into your head. Jump on, jump off, it matters not. But please, just remember this present opinion years from now.
6. Kobe's wife IS hot. Kobe Bryant is a jerk. I do not like him. I do not like the Lakers. I do not like green eggs and ham. But Kobe's still a helluva player.

... AND NOW, further on to the comments:

Humor me please by taking a look at this list, these numbers now.

You know, when I look at that list, setting aside what it's indicating, the 1st thing that pops to mind is that this is a list of the top offensive players in the league. I don't think it's a coincidence that players that include in their game an affinity to getting to the rim and getting fouled. But i suppose you could look at this and infer that this validates the whole star players get the star treatment in the nba too. You could...

Listen, I concur with alot of what both mrcoffe and guru are stating. You can't blindly trust stats. You can't. Ballhogs do affect the flow of the offense. And stats do not incorporate the thousands of other factors that we SHOULD account for when evaluating players. This all ties in rather well with an old post that I wrote a while back trying to compare Allen with Manu. Manu was statistically better than Allen last year. But yes, the other factors should not be discredited. Allen showed he could shoulder the burden of being the PTPer of a team (this guy's sensational! listen to the cameron crazies going crazy!! yeah baby!!) as well as being able to produce transcendent individual playoff performances.

But I am not an idiot hanging out in a vacuum. Honestly. I wish I COULD quantify those uncountable efforts. I fully believe that they are quantifiable, but we simply haven't gotten around to it yet. But... do we then simply disregard credible facts/numbers because of their incompleteness in judging the whole picture? What of GM's? Should they throw away the stat sheets when deciding which direction to go personnel wise when choosing between two players whose backgrounds put some credible doubt into the numbers? With ALL the inconsistencies and anomalies they don't take into account, these numbers are still the most valuable litmus test we have. Some moreso than others.
And, quite simply, regarding Maggette & Ray,
1) the similarities in PER/output is too close to discredit an assumption that Maggette will be an adequate replacement for Ray, at the least
2) the difference in likely salaries between the two is way too huge and important to discredit as well in the evaluation. The value of Maggette, taking this into account, in my mind ends the argument for the validity of the make believe trade.
3) I think it's ludicrous to consider FTA's/the game/play that provides them as a negative quality of a player
4) to be the broken record, I'm NOT fully convinced that you can't compare numbers between a second option type guy vs. a 1st option type guy. But yes, you have to look at this factor among many others to avoid being an idiot.
5) and regarding the idea that Brand on the Sonics would increase Allen's numbers: If anything I think that would have a slightly negative impact on his output (the gawdy numbers like ppg etc) but in all likelihood increase his PPS, eFG. The reverse would likewise hold true for maggette.

And here's a link of a post made by a Clipper's blogger/writer, done in March.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_12025.shtml

One.
Booth52

He's Making A List, Checking It Twice...

2005-07-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

The 2005 Free Agency Period aka The Sonics shopping spree.

For the present moment let us forget about NEEDS. Let us not focus on NEEDING to resign Ray, NEEDING Mr. Sonic Nate McMillan to return, & NEEDING to take a hit out on Wally Walkah. With that being said, on with the list. We've got a big sweaty wad of cash sitting in our pockets. Here's a thought. How bout we don't go out and immediately pay off the loan for the '04 Accord sitting in the garage. We's gots options peeps! 0% interest! Rebates! Discounts! Brand New! Slightly used but still servicable! Let's go out and check out the dealerships no?

The Players in this High Stakes Hold em Final Table (& chip count*):
(Who say's you can't have too many analogies? )
*Assumes 49.5M Salary Cap
*Numbers extrapolated from the salary figures at hoopshype.com. Aside from including bogut's contract, they don't take into account money set aside to sign up drafted players. Chad Ford's got differenet numbers here.)

Charlotte (39.5M in cap space)
Seattle (32M)
Atlanta (29.5M)
New Orleans (23M)
LAC (20.5M)
Chicago (27.5M) assuming Chandler and Curry opt out
Cleveland (28)
Milwaukee (22M)
Washington (12.5M)
Dallas (Mark Cuban, Infinite*M)

Seattle Roster:

It’s mine! I’m keeping it now!
Rashard Lewis 1yr left at 8.5M (believe there might be a PO at 07)
Nick Collison at 1.8 (signed through 07 w/ PO at 07)
Luke Ridnour at 1.7 (signed through 07 w/ PO at 07)
Robert Swift at 1.8 (signed through 08 w/ PO at 08)
Danny Fortson at 6.5 (6.9 in 06. Yay. We got the ol' sparkplug back. Yay.)
Petro at X (yay.)
Gebalalalalle (double yay.)
(This is, at least to me, the Sonics 05 team. I'd much rather see it that way than mentally consider Radman/Allen and company as part of the team until they are signed elsewhere. That thought proccess is folly, and leads to the inevitable Booth52 burning his clothes and crying in the shower scene when Ray Allen bolts to join King James and the Cavaliers. hehe. I keed. I keed.)

Don’t pack your bags just yet.
Damien Wilkins RFA
Vladimir Radmanovic RFA
Reggie Evans RFA
Ronald Murray RFA

The 15M-dollar question:
Ray Allen UFA

We’ll miss you little buddy:
Antonio Daniels PO-will opt out- UFA

So we’ve got your resume here, mmm-kay, and we’ll let you know.
And don’t call us. We’ll call you.
Vitaly Potapenko UFA

Don’t let the door hit your rotund ass on the way out:
Jerome James UFA

The Free(?) Agents:

UFA’s:

Ray Allen and The Replacements
Ray Allen
Michael Redd
Larry Hughes
Cuttino Mobley
Bobby Simmons
Latrell Sprewell

Long, Big, & Stiff(s)
Sam Dalembert
Theo Ratliff
Stromile Swift (my man crush of the moment)
Zydr… uhhh. Z.
Shareef Abdur Rahim
Donyell Marshall
Jeroooomme!
Antoine Walkah!!
Darius Miles
Dale Davis

2nd options/backups to Rid (don't EVEN get me started)
Antonio Daniels (preparing the break-up mixed tape right now. Please don't go baby! Come back to me!)
Earl Watson
Jeff McGinnis
Dan Dickau
Gary Payton
Damon Stoudamire

The bargain bin:
Glenn Robinson
Jahidi White
Bo Outlaw
Ervin Johnson
Mark Madsen
Tyronn Lue
Darrel Armstrong
And Company…

RFA’s

You want em?! Not without a fight, you won’t!
Joe Johnson
Tyson Chandler
Eddie Curry

We can avoid the fight, if you just give me your PB&J sandwich right now.
Kwame Brown
Vladimir Radmanovic
Jamaal Tinsley
Marko Jaric
Kyle Korver
Brendan Haywood
Gerald Wallace
Jason Collins
Primo Brezec
Udonis Haslem
Dan Gadzuric
Reggie Evans
Flip Murray

Options (Those not specified are player options)
Keith Van Horn
Jalen Rose
Grant Hill
Jamal Mashburn
Bonzi Wells (TO)
Eddie Jones
Nick Van Exel (TO) at 12M, I believe it’s safe to bump him to the UFA list
Bobby Jackson (TO)
Devean George
Austin Croshere (TO)
Cliff Robinson

Alrightee. So there's the list/basics. Coming soon is my proposal for where we throw the cheddah around and the roster I'd ideally like to see compose the 2005-06 Seattle Supersonics.

Trade Allen for Maggette... are you nuts?

2005-07-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't provide a link, I couldn't really find one. There's been articles/rumors from "reliable insider sources" claiming the Clippers are targeting Ray Allen. One of the latest rumors I've seen floating around is a trade of Ray Allen for Corey Maggette and Chris Wilcox. I'd just like to start off immediately by saying that is the most ludicrous trade scenario I could possibly imagine. And while both Elgin Baylor & Wally Walker have participated in some questionable player acquisitions this one would have to immediately bumped to the top. It is a completely one sided trade.

I would NEVER give up Corey Maggette for Ray Allen.

Yeah, that's right, I would rather have Maggette than Ray Allen. In a f**king heartbeat.

Now before you go turning the page, let me continue to say that right now, as of this moment, Sugar Ray is the better player than Corey. But the difference is more razor thin than I believe most expect:

Here are the relavant stats:


        Allen   Maggette Allen age 25
mpg     39.3    36.9     38.2
ppg     23.9    22.2     22.0
rpg     4.4     6.0      5.2
apg     3.7     3.4      4.6
efg     49.8    45.7
PER     21.38   20.34
PSA     1.11    1.15

For more in depth numbers jump right in:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/maggeco01.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allenra02.html
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/la_clippers.htm
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3080/career
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3336/career

Does anybody else look at these numbers and see a huge difference? Yet people whom I usually trust don't even consider Maggette a top 50 player.

Top SG's of the league: Kobe, T-Mac, Wade, Manu, The Truth, Sugar Ray, Joe Johnson, Redd, Hughes, VC, Rip, Ben Gordon... really? Maggette couldn't crack this list? A travesty. I'm ashamed of you Mr. Simmons, really. You've got season tix to the clips, have seats to watch this guy play and can't see gem in front of your eyes.

Let's be devil's advocate for a sec: What about the playoff dependability of Allen you say? Yeah, I'll concede that. With Ray, we know he's capable of performing "in the clutch." There is a possibility that Corey is just a statstuffer and that when it comes down to taking the final shot or playing well in the playoffs his nuts will shrivel to the size of raisins We'll call it the Rashard Syndrome. And considering we've already got Rashard pulling that crap, we can't possibly have these two unknown quantities, without leadership capabilities, leading our team right? Baloney. I'm giving Lewis another chance to redeem himself and giving Corey one as well to prove he's got the balls. What else? Oh yeah, he's a leader/great chemistry guy. He talks to Damien Wilkins after practice? Eats lunch with A.D.? A natural born leader? Read The Alchemist ?Gawd, please end this crap. Not two years ago, Allen was being labeled the exact opposite at Milwaukee. Pure perception, all of it. I ain't gonna let this crap get in the way of pulling a MF'ing A trade.

Here's the stats that I find the most compelling:
Corey Maggette
05- 6.72
06- 7.28
07- 7.84
08- 8.40

Those numbers are what Maggette is locked up for in terms of salary per year. That's about 30M for 4 years from a guy who has averaged 20pts, 6 boards, & 3 dimes over the best two years in 36mpg. He's also 25 years old. Allen was reportedly offered a 5yr-75M dollar contract. That averages out to about 15M a year. He turned it down. I would infer that not only does he want more money, but along with the new CBA, he'll want the extra year the Sonics can legally give him.

So let me get the options straight: Ray Allen at 6 yrs 90M or Corey Maggette at 4 yrs 30M. Ray Allen at age 30-36 vs. Corey at age 26-29. Really?

Point is: What is of more importance to me is not simply comparing Allen to Maggette, but more importantly comparing the product/output you get from the 15M a year given to Allen compared to the 15M paid to Maggette (6-8M) and player(s) X at 9-7M. A 9M dollar player folks, in addition to Maggette who will, if not match or exceed Allens offensive output, at least come close. Imagine Tyson Chandler and Corey Maggette compared to a tandem of Ray Allen & Nick Collison. I can go through a hundred other scenarios folks. I really can't understand how people could not see the TUP to this trade. Lewis, Maggette, & player C (& maybe D) leading the Supersonics revival to the glory days... Please stop with the tease Chad Ford/Marc Stein. I can't take any more.

If this trade rumor has any legs to stand on, I say we get Elgin on the phone and get it done before he wakes up. I would be even willing to throw in a future 1st rounder, or even (gasp!) Swift or Petro to get this deal done. Even more if need be.

Rashard, Maggette, Stromile Swift, A.D., Pot. Collison, Rid, Radmanovic, Fortson, Damien Wilkins, Swift. Lawd have mercy!!! With cash to spare.

I would have to wet myself if that scenario ever happened.

Please Elgin, make my dreams come true. Youuuu can doooo it!

The way of the future

2005-07-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

Howard Hughes: [talking of Juan Trippe] He owns Pan-Am. He owns Congress. He owns the Civil Aeronautics Board. But he does not own the sky.

As I've stated before the initial reason I started commenting/posting at Supersonicsoul is because it was one of the 1st Sonics fan sites I came across. Well, just in case anyone is unaware like I was, there are quite a few more sites out there Sonics related (when i get around to updating this blog, I'll appropriately link these)

Sonics Forums:
Seattle P.I. Forum (the one I've been frequenting lately, lots of informed fans)
realgm.com/boards (prolly the largest fanbase, I think)
sonicscentral.com (from what I can tell, it used to be a pretty established forum, but you can almost see the tumbleweeds rolling along when you come in now)
Justbball.com
basketballboards.net/forum
prosportsdaily.com/forums

And of course the blogs:
http://www.supersonicsoul.com/ (still going strong)
http://seattlesupes.blogspot.com/ (read worthy at the very least for the hottie pic updates, if not for the humorous POV)
http://sonicscentral.com/blog/
http://bremertonians.blogspot.com/ (seattle sports in general)
And I'm sure there's even more out there I'm unaware of.

Seriously, there are diehard fans out there, alot of whom are actually quite intelligent, and you can pick practically any of these sites to fulfill your Sonics' jones and pass the time away listening/reading what others have to say about Allen, Nate, & Co. The problem I suppose is that they're not all congregated at one uber-site. That is if you consider that a problem or a nuisance. I initially thought it was.

During the playoffs I came across two really good Spurs forums:
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums
http://www.spursreport.com/forums

They both have nice interfaces, a large fan base that congregate at each, and were/are highly entertaing to read, especially during the Spurs-Sonics series. That was when I initially started thinking why the hell doesn't natural selection thin out the herd and save us the hassle of having to go to multiple sites?

Is it that bad a situation to have multiple sites to choose from? In and of itself either of the Spurs forums would be adequate reading/forum-ing alone. But having both out there gives you the choice between two great products with slight nuances. And reading both only heightens the team fanatic experience to an extremely unhealthy level. The combination is almost as great as the invention of the Red Bull + (insert your choice of alchohol here) mixed drink. I mean, seriously, what the hell was I whining about again?

So while I would ideally wish the herd of sonics forums gets trimmed down to 2 or 3 really well established sites, much like the Spurs forums situation, all things considered, I'll take the situation as is as opposed to option B: an internet with only one Pan Am Sonics forum owning the skies over the Atlantic.

-And regarding The Aviator, pretty good flick methinks. One thought in particular: Alan Alda (and Baldwin as Trippe as well)/the director/writer did a good job creating the despisable character Sen. Brewster. Without the Brewster & Trippe characters/nemesis plotlines working well, I doubt the movie would have worked/I would have liked it.
So here's the thing: I'm fully aware that's what the characters were meant to provide for the story, and to look at it from a skewed angle, that the moviegoer is fully manipulated by the script/acting/directing into rooting for the hero/against the villain. It's a vital part of the plot/movie and without it the movie goes nowhere.
For me, a movie doesn't work when I feel/am made aware of the manipulation by bad packaging and handling (had a sexual reference analogy here but to keep it P.C. has been edited out) from the director/actor/writing. You know what I'm talking about: the over the top villains/performances, cheesy villain lines/sequences, straight up in your face plotlines practically spelling it out for you: that is the bad guy, this is the good guy, bad guy killed good guys (insert family member loved one here)- don't like that guy, root for this guy. So regarding The Aviator, it was either good cause it was good or simply because my palate/intelligence for movie watching has eroded into nil. And keep in mind, this is coming from a guy who stood up and clapped along with the rest of the audience during the closing credits of Independence Day at the theatre. That movie rocked! Bill Pullman as the president... giving his speech... goosebumps Bill... you ah a smooth talkah! you ah, you ah! (yet another obscure, out of nowhere reference that noone but the retarded would possibly catch) haha!

-and, oh yeah, don't put money on it, but i think some actual sonics' related posts are forthcoming. hopefully a cheap allen trade rumor post might come tomorrow. free agency beckons, my friends! this should be interestin

Draft thoughts

2005-06-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

Just so I can look back and see what a dumbass I was I'd like to write down my current thoughts on the players:

Good to close to great players:
Gerald Green
Chris Paul
(slight dropoff)
Marvin Williams
Danny Granger

Starting lineup quality players:
Hakim Warrick (I foresee a Marcus Cambyesque career, hopefully without the inuries. Potentially a good to great player... with tremendous upside)
Sean May
Deron Williams
Martell Webster
Channing Frye (although the potential to become the next loren woods is also there)
Salim Stoudamire
McCants
A. Blatche (18rbg & 8bpg... in HS. but still!)
Vasquez
Felton

Duds:
Bogut (maybe a bit too severe, but I doubt he'll justify a top 3 pick. Not quite a Darko, but nowhere near a Dirk/Gasol either.)
Charlie Villanueva (for those of you who don't recall he was the guy that placed second to Lebron at the McDonalds slam dunk contest. I believe that will be the highlight of his career. That and being able to impersonate the bad guys in Double Dragon.)
Luke Schenscher (If the Sonics get him, it'll be density)
Simien & Turiaf (just a hunch, like the rest of this crap. not horrible NBA careers, just not noteworthy either, I'd guess. I'd guess 8th man of the bench 8-10m a game types. they just don't have that IT factor. haha.)

I also don't think Hodge is gonna amount to much. No clue on Ike Diogu and Chris Taft or Bynum. Or anyone else for that matter.

Speculations post Spurs-dynastification

2005-06-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the appropriate links 1st off:

Where I got word of the Allan Houston Clause: CelticsBlog. The blogging world never rests people.

The Allan Houston Clause article: (Please note this is the Daily News and any story originating from them should be doubted until proven correct- I'm pretty sure this is the Vecsey newspaper):
Under new CBA, Knicks have one-time option to buy out any player. Money still counts against the salary cap, but not luxury tax.

The Trade:
trade that would send Quentin Richardson and a conditional future first-round pick to the Knicks for Kurt Thomas

So, 1st off, that Houston Clause, while it doesn't aid as much as it seems to, sounds full of it to me. It seems like something Isaiah/the GM's pushed for but one that'll likely be of more benefit to the players, allowing the high market teams to continue to lavish $50M contracts even after sporting a crazy bankroll already.

If you're a GM dumb enough or unfortunate enough to get stuck with a Houston-type contract, I say you should pay the punishment. Hell, in my Fantasy Football league last year 7 teams bypassed taking Peyton Manning over running backs in a league that gave 6pts for a TD pass. Was there a redraft done after a couple of games to placate the idiot GM's? Hells no! (A FFL league champeeenship ain't no joke fellas.) The clause is basically the equivalent of giving a GM the right to carry around a backup pair of undies in case he soils himself. This ain't preschool folks, I don't need no stinking badges, and the only way the mentally impaired GM's of the league are gonna get eliminated is through the process of natural selection(?)/evolution darwin style. There's a reason the Dodo bird didn't make it. The damn thing had wings, couldn't fly, and had s**t for brains. Let's just move on.

As for the genius move of landing Q.... hmmm.
Knicks roster:
Backcourt: Marbury, Crawford, Q, Penny, Trevor Ariza, Houston (if move doesn't go down)
Frontcourt: Tim Thomas, Mo Taylor, Sweeney, Jerome Williams, Malik Rose

For comedic purposes you must head over to Hoophype.com's Knicks salary info to complement this. Tim Thomas 14M, Penny 15M, Starbury 16.4, Crawfard 6M, Q 6M... That's funny to me. I believe Knickerblogger or some other Knicks site (i'm paraphrasing, and probably incorrectly too) pointed out the fact at the Malik Rose trade that trying to cut salaries pre 06 for the Knicks wasn't really logical so adding salaries that compounded to the salary cap until then wasn't as terrible a thing as casually observed. The reasoning made a lot of sense but to me this trade, as is/left alone, doesn't. Even with Thomas' obsession for stockpiling SG's disguised as PG's I'd be shocked if the roster stayed as is without him trying to swing another deal to form a more typical 5 man squad of sorts. Shooting Guards and Power forwards and large salaries, oh my! NY certainly ain't Kansas (or seattle for that matter) Toto...

Also in the works:
Danny Ferry to be GM of the Cavaliers, and Rex Chapman likewise to be GM of the T-Wolves. This stuff is also funny to me. Rex Chapman... Geez, he MUST be a good guy to oversee personnel decisions since he helped get Nash, The SuperDuper MVP of the NBA, to the Suns. As much as I disdain the Walkmeister, I feel in much more competent hands knowing that Oliver and Cho are whispering sweet somethings into the ears of The Wizard of Ineptness. Nevermind that Sund GM signing crap. Purely a smokescreen. DeanO, I am trusting you to grab the wheel and steer the SupesShip towards the promised land when Captain Wally turns his head. Don't let me down.

Look, I don't discount the idea that former players may be competent GM's. I'm just highly dubious of the selection process if one of the qualities the hiring was based on was for this fact. Intelligence and rational thought are priorities 1a and 1b, playing experience priority #28,690 when it comes to selecting the head of the org. Ferry stands a decent chance of being a decent GM cause he's been (hopefully) learning some stuff from Buford in the Spurs org. But Chapman? Really? The guy who brought up the whole race card issue for the Nash MVP voting during the playoffs? Ughhh. I feel fairly confident in my ignorant belief: Chapman's gonna be a waste of money as a GM. At the very least.

Oh yeah, regarding the new CBA.
a) I'm fairly certain that this will result in Ray resigning with the Sonics. If not, Allen will head over to another team via a trade with the Sonics to capitalize on that extra year that the Sonics can give him. Allen at 15M+, Mac-10 at 5M+.... Antonio Daniels has officially left the building. I'll miss you little buddy.

And regarding the Spurs title and post celebration:
For the 1st time in a long time I watched a team win a championship... and felt a certain amount of sadness/envy. I haven't really talked to Matt yet about how much he's enjoying it all, but I'm hoping he's properly savoring the moment.

Watching games 5-7, the Horry magic, Billups in the clutch, Manu, Duncan... the celebrations, the Parker rap... watching the Spurs and the Pistons duel it out, 2 teams I hold no emotional/fanatical ties to, all for the opportunity to hoist above their heads a rather lame looking trophy... Sometimes sports moments just creep up on you and make you realize why you care about games and teams in the 1st place. This uninteresting, slow paced, boring finale came out of nowhere and provided that for me. I want that champeenship feeling sometime in my life and dammit I'm gonna enjoy the moment when it comes.

Oh yeah, if anyone is reading this and is noting just how much more crappy my writing has become... you needn't bother, i'm fully aware. I have no idea how matt does this juggling blogging/work thing.