Category: General NBA insight

General NBA insight

T-Mac deal: Knicks clear much-desired cap space

By Jerald Hoover

The big deal is finally done and as it seems all parties got what they wanted out of the trade:  The Knicks created much-needed LeBron James cap space (for this summer’s free agency class) all the while bringing in a former All-star whom they hope can be lighting in a bottle and regain more than a glimpse of his former self.  McGrady alone can be enough to entice others to come along for the ride if he looks anything he used to.

Flashy point guard Sergio Rodriguez, aka “Spanish Chocolate,” was brought in as an apparent upgrade over Chris Duhon, who seems to be devoid of any type of penetrating move.  Rodriguez, while turnover-prone, is lightning quick at 6-foot-3 and has exceptional court vision.

Did the Knicks give up too much in the way of first round picks.  In a word, NO!  First off, first round picks are a crap-shoot at best, and yes, even those picked 1st or 2nd in the draft.  Please see the file on the Clippers Michael Olowokandi and Detroit’s Darko Milicic for top picks in their respective drafts.

The Knicks are just flip-flopping on the 2011 pick, and yes they’re giving up the 2012 pick, but it’s Lottery-protected.  Not only that, if one thinks about it the Knicks could always parley someone like Wilson Chandler to a team for a first round pick.

The Rockets not only rid themselves of McGrady and his high maintenance ways (according to them), but they bring in a young scoring stud in Kevin Martin to go along with Aaron Brooks in the backcourt.  They should be extremely explosive.  Swingman Trevor Ariza should have a field day.

The Sacramento Kings gained a young forward in Carl Landry who should help down low with Jason Thompson.

Jerald L Hoover is a producer and director of a Mount V, NY basketball documentary: Four Square Miles to Glory.

Tracy McGrady ready to rock

Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:

Tracy McGrady ready to rock

“Just stay tuned,” Tracy McGrady said. “This is not the same Tracy from last season, when I was hobbling on one leg. That’s not going to be me. I’m a lot more explosive, a lot more confident in my leg. What I’ve been as far as rehabbing, I feel I can do everything I can do in the past.”

“I’m pretty close to being 100 percent. With surgery, I know Allan Houston had it, a lot of guys who had surgery ended their careers. I’ve worked extremely hard to not allow myself to be one of those players where I can’t prolong my career.”

It has been exactly a year since McGrady’s microfracture right-knee surgery derailed his career.

“Last couple of years, I’ve been injured,” McGrady said. “I recognize that. You got one of the best players in the league that’s going to be a free agent, Bosh, Dwayne, Stoudemire. Those guys are on top right now. I will do what I have to do for two months and I can get my name back in there.”

Josh Howard wants to stick it to Mavs

Eddie Sefko, special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reports:

Josh Howard’s exit from the Dallas Mavericks went from amicable to a bit testy after he made his debut in Washington on Wednesday night.

Howard said after his first game as a Wizard — he was 5-of-14 from the field with 14 points and one rebound in 27 minutes — that he looks forward to being able to “stick it to the Mavs” regarding the trade after six-plus seasons in Dallas.

The Mavericks took the high road, with owner Mark Cuban saying only, “I wish Josh nothing but the best.”

The juicy piece of irony is that Howard ended up in Washington, which may well have been the site where he had the beginning of the end, according to several Maverick sources.

They say Howard had a long night of partying on Jan. 19, the night after the Mavericks had won in Boston and less than 24 hours before playing the Wizards.

Rafer Alston happy Nets let him go

Howard Kussoy of the New York Post reports:

Rafer Alston happy Nets let him go

A member of the Heat since being signed on Jan. 7, after clearing waivers, Alston suffered with the Nets as they opened the season with an NBA-record 18 straight losses. Less than a year removed from playing in the NBA Finals for the Orlando Magic, Alston remained with the Nets as their record hit 3-30.

The indignity would soon end, as Alston escaped NBA’s Shawshank, crawling through a river of losses and coming out clean on the other side, finding serenity on the beach.

“The one common question I always get [from other players] is ‘How tough was it? or ‘It must’ve been tough.’ It was,” Alston said. “I don’t think any player in this league wants to go through setting the record for the most consecutive losses and then being where they’re at now. You played as hard as you can and you did everything to stay in the game and then you’d still lose the game. That was the hard part.”

Wizards trade Antawn Jamison to Cavaliers in 3-team deal

Wizards trade Antawn Jamison to Cavaliers

The Washington Wizards had a “big three” of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. Though only Jamison is considered an actual big-man in today’s NBA — and he’s undersized and more of a tweener forward than a true power forward — they were called that because those guys were the nucleus of the team. The foundation. Here to stay.

But Arenas was suspended and his future may be elsewhere. Butler was traded in a better-than-expected deal that brought Josh Howard to D.C. And now, Jamison is gone.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired forward Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards and guard Sebastian Telfair from the Los Angeles Clippers, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. In exchange, the Cavaliers sent center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, their first round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and the draft rights to forward Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft, to the Wizards. The additional components of the three-team trade included the Clippers acquiring forward/center Drew Gooden from Washington and Washington acquiring forward Al Thornton.

“Z has been a cornerstone part of this franchise and his jersey will hang in the rafters here some day, not only because of his play, but because of the tremendous person he is and what he has meant to the franchise and the community,” Ferry said. “He has represented the Cavaliers, Cleveland and the NBA at a consistently high level for many years. We wish Z and his family the best.”

Jamison, 33, has averages of 20.5 points on .450 shooting, including shooting .345 from three-point range, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 block in 39.0 minutes per game in 41 games played (all starts) this season with Washington. He is the only player in the NBA this season with averages of at least 20.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while making 50 or more three-pointers. The 11-year veteran has been named an all-star on two occasions (2004-05, 2007-08) and won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award following the 2003-04 season. In all but two of his 11 seasons, he has averaged at least 19.6 points and has posted rebounding averages of 7.0 or better in eight of his 11 seasons. He has career averages of 19.9 points on .456 shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 36.9 minutes per game in 839 games (732 starts) and is one of just five active players with over 16,000 points and 6,000 rebounds.

The forward from North Carolina has reached the postseason in five seasons and has averages of 19.2 points on .443 shooting and 7.8 rebounds in 37.1 minutes per game in 31 career postseason games (26 starts).

“Antawn is a great pro. We are very excited to have an experienced all-star player of Antawn’s caliber and character join us,” Ferry said. “He has the ability to add a special, unique dimension to our team with a strong inside presence and the ability to stretch teams defensively, while impacting the entire court. We think he matches the culture we have built, and continue to build, and will fit well with our group on the court and off.”

Telfair, 24, is averaging 4.3 points on .404 shooting and 2.9 assists in 14.9 minutes per game in 39 games played (one start) this season. The five-year veteran has career averages of 7.8 points on .390 shooting and 3.9 assists in 23.6 minutes per game in 388 games (181 starts).

Ilgauskas, a two-time all-star, has averages of 7.5 points on .452 shooting, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 20.5 minutes per game in 53 games played (six starts) this season. He departs the Cavaliers as the franchise’s all-time leader in regular season games played (760), postseason games played (64), rebounds (5,841) and blocked shots (1,259).

Drafted by the Cavaliers with the 20th overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian played all 11 seasons with the Cavaliers and has career averages of 13.9 points on .475 shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 28.4 minutes per game in 760 games (673 starts).

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Reggie Evans not a suit guy

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star writes:

Reggie Evans not a suit guy

Reggie Evans, the Raptors’ designated banger, is expected to make his regular season debut on Wednesday, and what kind of shape is he in?

If you’ve watched him in his only regular-season turn as a Raptor – as a sometimes-manic bench presence – it’s been difficult to say. Evans’ courtside wardrobe has mostly consisted of two blazers that run a couple of sizes baggier than Bryan Colangelo’s tailor might advise. They’re Polo brand, one blue, the other beige, both 100 per cent linen. And yes, he has heard the teasing from teammates and Twitterers alike. Linen in winter?

“Hey, I ain’t here to make a fashion statement. Those are my jackets, so I roll with ’em. They save me money. I don’t get fined (for violating the NBA’s jacket-required dress code),” Evans said. “I don’t like suits. … I don’t have one suit, period. I’m not a suit type of guy.”

A well-cut suit, mind you, might have made it a little easier to judge if Evans’s long-time inability to do weight-bearing exercise had a weight-gaining downside. Club employees, though, will happily tell you there are no new wrinkles beneath his baggy wrinkles. Evans was 265 pounds on the day he damaged the ligaments in his left foot in a pre-season game. And when he takes the floor on Wednesday, he’ll be 265 pounds. He’ll have even shaved a few percentage points off his body-fat content.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas loves his orthotics

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas loves his orthotics

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has become a bit of a foot expert because of the troubles he had earlier in his career, practically could be a spokesman for orthotics. Most of the Cavs’ big men use them, including Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao, because their feet take extra abuse.

Ilgauskas swears by his orthotics, and he wears them in all of his shoes, even when he’s not playing. He has encouraged teammates over the years to use them.

“Forget athletes, I think everyone should have them just to walk around,” Ilgauskas said. “All your problems start with your feet. The first ones I had years ago were hard plastic and not very good, but they’ve evolved and become better. Now without my orthotics, I couldn’t play.”

Warriors have no chemistry

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports:

The Warriors have used 27 starting lineups in 49 games. They’ve lost 280 games due to injury. They have five players currently on the roster who didn’t take part in the team’s training camp.

Warriors have no chemistry

So when forward Corey Maggette says the team has “no chemistry whatsoever,” it’s easy to understand why the Warriors are in such a predicament though the season is more than half done.

“It’s pretty hard when you don’t have a consistent group that’s playing together,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “Chemistry is just a good balance of players who play off of each other well. That’s what we’re talking about.”

As tonight’s opponent — the Dallas Mavericks — can attest, Golden State once had a special chemistry on the court and off. It helped the Warriors upset the Mavericks in the 2007 playoffs.