A Brush With Free Agency

Free agency begins tonight at 12 ET. Let me save you some time. This wont be an in-depth analysis of all the available free agents. I won’t be discussing the needs of teams and drawing the connect-the-dots lines tying the free agents to said teams. If you want something like that— then try google. (Or you could try bing which I already hate, seriously if they decide to advertise one more place it'll have to be the inside of my eyelids. Sleep is pretty much the only place I don't see their annoying ads)

No this brush with free agency is only here to discuss crap that matters to me.

Crap 1)I like to make predictions. I think if you are going to say you know and love sports, predictions are a part of that. Then again, I said JP Losman was going to be the best QB in his class(See Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger) OOPS. With the humble pie having been consumed, here is my prediction; Marcin Gortat will be a player in this league.
I'd love to tell you I've seen a lot his game time in the league. Then I'd love to follow up by recounting the numerous times I saw him play for the Anaheim Arsenal which play 15 min from my palatial condo.

None of that is true though. The only games I have seen Gortat play were in this years playoffs. But as a religious reader of my blog you know about my A-rod rule. "It's what you do when it counts, not what you do with no outs". Gortat played solid through out. Not only is he a solid player, he is a big man in a league suffering for them. He also brings the fundamentals you'd expect from a European player without the glaring softness you normally associate with those players.

Crap2) This only comes second because it is going to be a bit sweeter and a lot shorter. LAMAR ODOM I love your game. I love the way you played for the Lakers this year. But don't lie to yourself; You like being a #2. You defer, and you do it well. Nothing wrong with that. Johnny needed Ed Mcmahon. Batman needed Robin. And my man, Kobe needs you. Ariza is good, but all this hogwash that he can replace you is ridiculous. Stick around, by the time you all quit this run your hand will look like chandeliers

Shaq to the Suns The Fallout

As the reality of the Shaq trade is coming to fruition. It seems like we really ought to consider the ripples, that are bound to come when you drop a stone that big into the NBA pond.

Mike D'antoni is gone. I mean he will finish out this year, he might even start out next year. But soembosy write it down a calendar year from today D'antoni wont be coaching the Suns. When the trade cam up Tuesday morning, D'antoni said on his radio show that no deal was close. Hours later the trade is confirmed and Shaq is on a flight to check out his hip. Steve Kerr who is sporting some Championship hardware that D'Antoni is lacking, is pulling the strings in Phoenix and he just doesn't seem to mesh with the current coaches philosophy. (I posted yesterday about Larry Brown's desire for another coaching gig, interesting to think of him in Phoenix)

The Mavericks now have another thing to contend with while they try and figure out what the hell is going on there. One thing you can be sure of A guy like Mark Cuban is not about to sit around and hope things get better. Did you see him in Dancing with the Stars, the man is ultra competitive. You know that last years early exit is still gnawing at him. Look for the Jason Kidd trade talks to take on a little more heat. The situation basically went from Kidd is available so why wouldn't the Mavericks take a look. Now it has become more of a situation where the Mav's need to keep up the the Jones's Lakers and Suns.

The other development which I touched on the other day is the combination of the Kobe-Shaq rivalry and the Lakers-Suns rivalry. If you think that both those guys don't know that the post-trade Championship count is currently Shaq:1 Kobe:0. Kobe has a team that is set up well to make a run at a few titles now. Shaq knows if he is going to win tis race he better get a big lead over the next two years. I'll be interested to see if the SUns are willing to extend Shaq beyond the two years he has remaining.

There is a lot of people who say that the NBA season isn't interesting until the All-Star break. This year they may be right, but it has more to do with how good the second half will be not how irrelevant the first half is.

Pau Gasol, (P)Owwie Gasoft, nope POW!! GaSir

After almost a week of anticipation and waiting. The Pau Gasol era began Tuesday night. Gasol missed the previous games since the trades with Jet lag (seriously) and back soreness. This didn't do much to help the nickname of Pau Ga-Soft but I am still hyped to get him. So I cleared my night and was ready and watching when they tipped it up in New Jersey.



Gasol started the game, with Phil Jackson mentioning before the game that he planned to play Gasol around 30 minutes. With Kobe having an off night it was good that Gasol was part of the plans. His line was good with 24 points and 11 boards. I was even more pleased with the other things I saw. The natural looking chemistry between the guys as they chest bumped and high-fived their way through a game that could have been easily lost by a team that wasn't all on the same page. Of course it is easy to fit in to team when you are such a natural passing big man.



While Gasol did show some of his vision and passing that he is known for, he didn't show the other traits he is known for. Timid offense and soft defensive play. No in fact he was grabbing rebounds away from guys with authority and going back strong, for quite a few three point opportunities. With that style of play the high free throw percentage he brings with him will certainly help the Lakers.



I don't think he will have quite as high a line on most nights, however if he continues to give that kind of aggresive effort. The Championship so many people want to give the Celtics, just might be back up for contention. Looks like it is going to be a real POW!! Year.

Kobe Bryant (over)Reacts to Pau Gasol Trade

Forget the comments, the sound bites, and the good copy that Kobe Bryant was laying down when asked about the trade that would not only bring Pau Gasol to the Lakers but free the team of the yoke that is Kwame Brown.

You really want to know how he feels watch what he did after the ball was tipped up. Kobe has always been a player who responded well on the court to the things that were going on off of it. Think back to those games where he was in a Colorado court house all day and then on the court in LA hours later. He was nothing but dominant in almost every one of those games. That was with bad news weighing on him.

Tonight when he faced off against the Raptors in Toronto's Air Canada center. He took the court with possibly the best news he has heard in his time as a Laker on his mind and it showed. Kobe Bryant went for 46 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Those 46 were worth a little more than normal though. Quite a few of them were high flying acrobatic displays of just how far Kobe has come from the guy who was demanding a trade on the cell phone video of some kid in Orange County.

Just a small prediction but I caught Jomario Moon taking notes on a few of those moves by Kobe we might see Moon trying to duplicate 'em at the Dunk Contest in New Orleans this year.

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Pau Gasol to Lakers For Kwame Brown

I am so happy I could shout. First off I would like to apologize for all of the bad things I said about Mitch Kupchak. Between the move to get Ariza and now this deal, I am starting to forget the deal that brought us Brown (see: worst trades ever)

Mark Stein of ESPN is reporting that the deal would include Pau Gasol and a future second-round pick to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, the unofficially retired Aaron McKie , the draft rights to Pau Gasol's brother Marc and future first-round picks in 2008 and 2010

I am already some what of a Gasol fan, this however will put it through the roof. I think an active center will be a big benefit to the triangle offense. Gasol hasn't really performed up to expectations this season, after a strong finish last year. Hopefully Phil's presence will help that. Another aspect that I think will allow Gasol to flourish is the fact that he doesn't seem to be the leader he was asked to be in Memphis. With veterans like Fisher and Bryant around Gasol can focus on playing basketball.

One interestng dynamic will be how this plays out when Andrew Bynum returns from injury in another month. Will they split time on the court? Is Gasol athletic enough to play the power forward?


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Chris Webber Going Back to The Warriors

Oh, the potential. I have been hoping and pining for the last few weeks to get Chris Webber into Los Angeles to shore up the Bynum-less Lakers. I think he would have fit nicely, though I have developed more questions lately as I considered his resume of going to teams and not helping them win.

It really doesn't matter anyway because the door for his return began to swing shut with the signing fo DJ Mbenga and then slammed tight when it became known that he was retunring to Golden State and Don Nelson.

It turns out what I am getting out of Webber returning is even better than anything I had hoped for. Nelson was the coach who butted heads so frequently with Webber in his former run with the Warriors. This led to Webber leaving town and both sides being that much happier about it. Now though, it's all peace, love, and let's bury the hatchet. Yeah we'll see.

The most exciting part of this for me is the potential for this to become a trend. I mean I am sitting here on pins and needles waiting for the Latrell Sprewell comeback story Starring the Seattle Supersonics and one PJ Carlesimo

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Kupchak to Chris Webber - Call Transcript

I know I am going back to the same well of a topic, but I can't let it go.

::ring::,::ring::
“Hello”
“Yeah is Chris there”
“Speaking”
“Hey Chris, it’s me Mitch again”
“Hey Mitch, You know I was expecting another call soon. I just finished watching the game against Phoenix”
“Oh… oh, you did”
“Yeah Mitch I did, you know that price for the rest of the year just went up a little bit every time Kwame Brown dribbled off his foot, and then again when he missed a point blank dunk.”
“Yeah Chris let’s get down to the part where you tell us exactly what it’s going to take to get Kwame Brown back on the pine”

Seriously the Lakers are ridiculous in the middle. Kwame Brown is just a head case, the minute he heard booing from the stands(which should never happen at home, not to the extent it did any way) he was done, he couldn't even dribble racking up 3 of his seven turnovers on consecutive plays. I like Ronny Turiaf he is a great spark off the bench but, that is what he is. He is not a starting center in this league, not even for two months.

Chris Webber is that the Lakers Calling

I just finished watching the Lakers game. It was unbearable. Mid-way through the third Kwame Brown over shot on a dunk (how do you miss a dunk, you are a proffesional basketball player, at leat that is what Mitch Kupchack claims) the crowd got on him with some boos but that was a warm welcom compared to the escalation as he turned the ball over on the next three trips down the floor.
Somebody get Chris Webber on the phone. The Lakers have no true center. Bynum suffered a knee injury sunday night that will have him out for 8 weeks. Mihm out for the rest of his life with the fact he is a giant, un-gainly, white guy.

Sports Rumors

Andrew Bynum was injured in Sunday night’s game against. Memphis when he came down on teammate Lamar Odom’s foot. A Monday morning MRI revealed a sublexation (see:owie) of the knee. He is expected to miss 8 weeks. In a suddenly related story Chris Webber seems to be on his way back to the NBA. I don’t think that is a great solution, but I think it is the only solution for a team that all of a sudden has only one center on the roster at all and that center is Kwame Brown. Looking past the current emergency the Lakers find themselves in, I think the bigger value may come in the form of C-Web’s veteran leadership, if the team can hold together while Bynum is out and make a run at the playoffs.

The NFL hands out the Philadelphia class fan award. I know the Eagles fans thought that booing Santa Claus would give them a lifetime lock on this award but no the Colts fans shockingly upset them by booing a 14-year old girl, at the start of the fourth quarter, when she was announced as one of the winners of the Punt, Pass, Kick competition.