NBA Offseason 2009

[jon abbey]

Phoenix runs up and down and was a mediocre defensive team at best. giving away Marion (their best defender and a fantastic finisher on the break) for Shaq was just a terrible fit.

in Cleveland, on the other hand, he goes to a team that needs a post defender in the halfcourt, and specifically someone who can guard Howard one on one. Shaq can do that, especially if he gears his whole season towards it. also, Cleveland gave up nothing and Shaq's contract is expiring, whereas when Phoenix got him, he still had two seasons after that one to go on his ridiculously large contract.

anyway, the deals keep coming, fast and furious. how about this one?

"Various sources are reporting that Vince Carter has been traded to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee."

[Captain Hate]

I understand your point about the style of play but I still didn't see any sign that the Suns with the Matrix wouldn't continue to be an exciting team that always lost in the latter rounds of the Western conf.

I'm not sure what to make of that Magic purported trade; am I the only person that thinks that Dwight Howard has less offensive skills than Patrick Ewing did out of the John Thompson school of applied trashketball? Except against Ilgauskas obviously.

[jon abbey]

I understand your point about the style of play but I still didn't see any sign that the Suns with the Matrix wouldn't continue to be an exciting team that always lost in the latter rounds of the Western conf.

first of all, they probably win a title without that inane Amare suspension.

secondly, that's true, but this year they didn't even make the playoffs with Shaq and without Marion. I'm not saying they needed to stand pat, I'm saying that that specific move was doomed to failure from the day it was made.

[Jesse]

The Wolfies got Rubio!

[jon abbey]

you can't play Rubio and Flynn together, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a David Lee for Rubio deal in the works, hopefully Kevin Love comes back, maybe for Wilson Chandler?

but as it stands, NY doesn't draft a young stud PG for the billionth year in a row, Rod Strickland is seriously the last candidate (sorry, Charlie Ward). my first guess of this situation (if there's not a trade in the works for another young starting PG) is that Walsh should have taken Ty Lawson.

being a Knicks fan, always a pleasure...

[Captain Hate]

Is anybody as baffled as I am about the Magic's move? I'm assuming that by getting Carter that means that they've given up on resigning Hedo. So losing Alston, Lee and Hedo while picking up Vinsanity seems like a complete cluster-fuck to me. Who's the bench: Pietrus, Redick and maybe Gortat? WTF!!

[Noj]

Also scratching my head on the Orlando trade, sounds like they lost more than they gained.

It will be interesting to see which player performs better between Griffin and Thabeet. Who am I kidding, it's the Clippers! Thabeet is almost guaranteed to be the next Olajuwon.

[jon abbey]

Minnesota says they're keeping Rubio and Flynn both, let's see how smoothly Rubio's buyout goes now. he has some leverage to try to force a trade if he wants, he's the only one who can pay the buyout to his current team (as I understood it, anyway).

there was a Nate and Jordan Hill rumor for Rubio, that might make sense both ways. Nate is small but much more of a two guard than Rubio or Flynn, and Minnesota just traded Foye. maybe Brewer is the plan at 2?

[jon abbey]

Alston is meaningless, assuming Nelson stays healthy. Lee is a talent, but now Orlando has a more reliable crunch time creator and Turkoglu has less leverage in the upcoming negotiations.

also, dunno if this could be checked, but Carter seems to consistently operate as far from the basket as almost anyone, so if he and Howard are both swarmed, that leaves even more open 3s for everyone else.

Minnesota drafted Lawson also? alrighty.

[Borat Pri Hagafen]

You probably know this by now, but they drafted Lawson for someone else, not to keep.

Cavs, oddly enough, drafting for the future instead of a college player who could contribute right away but has less upside. I wonder if they know about Lebron's contract status.

[The G Man]

Is anybody as baffled as I am about the Magic's move? I'm assuming that by getting Carter that means that they've given up on resigning Hedo. So losing Alston, Lee and Hedo while picking up Vinsanity seems like a complete cluster-fuck to me. Who's the bench: Pietrus, Redick and maybe Gortat? WTF!!

VC creates his own shot, passes better, handles the ball much better, shoots three's better, blocks more shots (albeit not a lot) and is only two years older than Turkoglu. VC's decline from being a one year older (age 33) will be canceled out by playing with Dwight Howard.

Edit: The Magic might still re-sign Turkoglu, which would make them a deep team.

[The G Man]

I understand your point about the style of play but I still didn't see any sign that the Suns with the Matrix wouldn't continue to be an exciting team that always lost in the latter rounds of the Western conf.

I'm not sure what to make of that Magic purported trade; am I the only person that thinks that Dwight Howard has less offensive skills than Patrick Ewing did out of the John Thompson school of applied trashketball? Except against Ilgauskas obviously.

The Suns didn't win a championship with the Matrix but they were good enough to win one. The breaks didn't always go their way. Nash's bloody nose, the stupid suspensions, Sarver's cheapness such as giving away 1st round draft picks and Kurt Thomas, etc.

[The G Man]

I wonder if Rubio will try to force the T-Wolves to trade him by refusing to go to Minny. That would be good news for the Knicks.

[Noj]

It still tickles me how Phoenix self-destructed, seeing as they tore my heart out several years in a row. Atta girl, Kerr! Seriously though, they were an amazing offense to watch. The ball movement, the number of shooters, Nash's drive and dish and clutch buckets...that team was sick.

The T'Wolves must have figured they could bait a good trade with all those PGs.

[Enforcer]

I think Shaq can seriously help the Cavs. They're a half court team and that's where Shaq can be strong still. He was a terrible fit in Phoenix and that move smacked of desperation immediately. But this one looks like it improves Cleveland.

Vince Carter is a loser. He makes teams worse. The Magic might be good enough to overcome him, but they didn't make their lives any easier with that move. Not that they gave up much, but Carter is subtraction by addition.

[Captain Hate]

Gordo's always had a major mancrush on Carter; Vince's youtube of dunks is incredible but he's not the player I'd want on my team to perform better in the playoffs. I'm still saying it's far from a lock that Hedo doesn't go elsewhere unless he really really likes it in Orlando because he won't be a starter now. What the Magic really needed to do was to add a strong forward so Rashard could play the 3 which is what he really is.

Borat I'm not sure wtf Ferry was thinking with that choice other than letting Blair drop down to his friends on the Spurs, enabling them to get an absolute steal. Nags do you want to explain the Pistons decisions?

you can always tell when stern is going to call a foreign players name cause he looks at the card like WTF?????

wow....TYLER....good for him, who would have though (besides carolina fans)

haha you are all funny....lets keep getting point guards and stacking it up in the backcourt (kidding)

what are we doing????????????????? omg we better trade....what are we doing??????????? i dont even know

[jon abbey]

Carter will replace Courtney Lee in the starting lineup, Turkoglu would still start if he came back (along with Nelson, Carter, Lewis, and Howard).

I'm certainly not a Vince fanboy (and Larry's take could end up correct), but good luck trying to stop that lineup on offense, and with Howard behind them, they should be reasonably solid on D also. losing Gortat would hurt them, we'll see what happens there.

[The G Man]

I think Shaq can seriously help the Cavs. They're a half court team and that's where Shaq can be strong still. He was a terrible fit in Phoenix and that move smacked of desperation immediately. But this one looks like it improves Cleveland.

Vince Carter is a loser. He makes teams worse. The Magic might be good enough to overcome him, but they didn't make their lives any easier with that move. Not that they gave up much, but Carter is subtraction by addition.

VC gets a bad rap, probably warranted at the time he left Toronto but certainly not now. He was a team player all the way , a positive force in the locker room, and always cooperative with management as a Net.

He's not the player he was at age 24 but he's still a significantly above average player.

Jason Kidd whined his way out of NJ. Richard Jefferson only played hard on D when Kidd got on him. Nobody had a problem with Carter.

[jon abbey]

I wonder if Rubio will try to force the T-Wolves to trade him by refusing to go to Minny. That would be good news for the Knicks.

this makes sense for so many reasons. Minnesota right now has two PFs and two PGs and not much else (I loved Corey Brewer in college, but he hasn't shown much in the pros yet). the problem is NY's best asset is a sign and trade for Lee and Minnesota has two PFs already.

[Noj]

I see Jrue Holiday went to Philly at #17. The former UCLA Bruin has size, athleticism, and raw talent. Really raw. It would have been great to see him play another year for the Bruins and develop at the college level, but maybe it will work out to have his abilities honed by practicing against pro players. Darren Collison went at #21 to New Orleans--this kid was a great Bruin, a leader who stepped up to make shots and plays in tough situations. His lack of size may hurt him at the NBA level, but I hope he is successful.