NBA Chaos and Chris Paul Trade Veto Reactions

I've contemplated bringing back the blog for a while now. The recent NBA developments have shown me that I have too many opinions to vent to too many different people, that it's easier to put it all on this forum. With that said, DishingDimes is back!

Has there ever been a situation like this in pro sports? Has there ever been a situation like thisat your work? School organization? Fantasy League? The answer is probably 'No'. This doesn't happen in legitimate organizations.

I'm going to quickly try and dissect 3 interesting issues that are in this Chris Paul situation.

1) Dan Gilbert leading a group of owners to lobby David Stern to veto the trade.

This has ruined David Stern's legacy. He let a group of owners tell him what to do, and when to do it. What trade can go through now? We've found out that the league can veto any trade they don't feel "makes basketball sense"? They lost their purpose and role in the league when they stepped in to buy the Hornets, and now they've showed why. From what we understand, the owners were upset that the Lakers were saving upwards of $57 million in cap space. Really? Is that what this comes down to? We just got out of a lockout where we touched up the system to discourage big spending (this should have been called the LA/Miami/NY/Dallas Clause), and the Lakers try to get their books in order only to be smashed by the league. This was a win-win for all parties involved, and a deal that would have spared the Hornets a Melo-Nuggets fate. What kind of partnership would ever crush their associates for saving money? The example I've been using with everyone I've talked to is if you bought a company-owned car, and your colleagues looked at you and said, "No, don't think you can do that. You're getting way too great of a deal!" That type of thing doesn't happen, and if it did, you'd probably be pretty close to having an Office Freakout.

Bottom line: The only way this gets resolved and the NBA can salvage any sense of reputation is to reverse this trade. If Dwight gets traded to the Nets later today, I think everyone will be raising an eyebrow.

2) The reality that players and teams involved will have to go through an incredibly awkward period.

This will undoubtedly effect play in an overwhelmingly negative way. Lamar's already tweeted that he doesn't feel comfortable coming to training camp. An unhappy team behind closed doors already looks out of sync on the court. I can't imagine what a publicly unhappy team will look like on a court. Did we already forget when the Hornets traded Chandler to the Thunder only to to be turned down by the OKC training staff, and sent back to the Hornets? Don't think anyone was comfortable with that.

This also sets an awful precedent for future players like Chris Paul. He went through this whole process with incredible class and respect to the Hornets and the city of New Orleans. If he dragged his team and city through the mud, would the outcome have been the same?

What about Dell Demps? Everyone thought he was at the helm of the Hornets, and he just got smacked in the face by the league. Undermining someone's position of power is one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to someone, and it just happened very publicly. Not sure how he recovers from this without resigning and going elsewhere.

3) Still holding out hope that the league will respond appropriately.

I still have one ounce of hope that the league will come to their senses, and reverse their decisions before we go down a treacherous road. It doesn't even need to come with any explanation. The general consensus among basketball fans seems to be outrage that an administration would intervene to stop movement. It undermines business to an incredible extent, and with all of the backlash, I think the league might take a step back and change their stance. If you're an NBA fan, it's understandable that you take this as a slap in the face. Lets just hope that they'll give us some ice to heal from the wounds.

Good to be back,

Izzy

Team USA evaluation

I'm back from vacation, and after a few days rest back home in SoCal, I am back in NC for the grind of a another school year. The update on the blog is that we will not be able to finish the 'to-do list' of every team because we want to dedicate most of this blog to evaluating moves and news of the NBA and their respective teams. We will pick the remaining 'to-do list' teams based on the majority of our readers' interests. We hope to bring you at least 7 more teams before the start of the season. With Phil still in Beijing for the Olympics, it is pretty tough to be maintaining and writing for the site all at once. I'm confident Phil is working hard in Beijing though. Here is a quick rundown about the US Men's Basketball team in Beijing.

The US has looked about on par with where everyone expected them to be. Most people expected vulnerabilities and laughed at anyone who tried to make too much of their pre-Olympic performances, many of whom were inferior competition. With Team USA playing like they are, many of the people I have spoke with about the games have been reluctant to call the US a lock for the gold. Those reservations are probably due largely in part to the sour taste in everyone's mouth from the 2004 debacle.

Lebron and Dwade have played exceptionally for the U.S. on offense, and Kobe and Dwight Howard have been the defensive force. Wade netted 19pts against the win over Angola and Lebron managed 12pts. Kobe's defense forced a lot of turnovers that led to easy buckets, and Kobe's offense has been mediocre as he scored only 8 in the win against Angola and 13 against the win in China. Team USA does not need Kobe to be dropping 30 to win, obviously, but his amazing defense is one of the US's strongest assets. The main criticism the team has drawn has been from their poor three point shooting. They only shot 29.2% from beyond the arc against China and 23.8% against Angola. Those numbers are interesting because one would think that the three point percentage would go up because the arc is closer to the basket in international play, but for whatever reason, the US is not knocking the shots down.

The US started out slow against China, and at one point in the second quarter were tied 26-26. The US outplayed China in the second half and had a decisive 31 point margin of victory. The US' victory never seemed to be in doubt, but the US has turned the ball over 12 times in both games, and has not been amazing from the charity stripe either. They have shot 72% and 64%, respectively in the two games played. They are going to have to increase those numbers considerably as they hit the tough part of their schedule against Greece and Spain. Both teams have come off huge wins. A decisive win against Germany for Greece and an emotional OT victory for Spain over China, led by Gasol's 29pts.

The strong point for the US has been the evenly distributed minutes by Coach K, their defense, and ball distribution. It is basketball at its finest level. It is the level of basketball that can be seen at no other time. The best players in the world running a passing offense that creates spacing and open shots. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

The US is going to have to step up their play another notch for them to beat Greece. Melo has said that they have waited two years since the World Championships in Japan for a chance to play Greece again. Greece torched the US in 06' with their pick n' rolls the whole game. Which is interesting because since Mike D'Antoni is on the coaching staff, and his play book consisted of a total of two plays called, "Nash do whatever you want" and "Nash run a pick n' roll" he couldn't give any advice on how to guard the play. Nonetheless, the US needs to keep up their defense and hit their open shots. Kobe has said that the players on the team are not used to be that wide open, but the US has had ample time to adjust to their new roles on their teams and it is time to execute. There is no question that the US has the most talent in the world, and it is not even close, but it is yet to be seen if the US has the best chemistry in the world. That will be tested with the up coming games, and if the US is going to win gold, they have to work out the kinks. It will be interesting to see how the US responds to the challenge, but without a doubt, Melo, Bron, and Dwade have had this date against Greece for a long time. The game against Greece will need to be played at a high level so the US can take that momentum into the games against Spain and Germany.

-Izzy

Links:

Gilbert Arenas has thoughts about Kwame and free agency in general, the pics of his pool that leaked, the european trend, and more.

Studies show that pro basketball players can tell whether a shot is good or bad the moment it leaves their hand from the memory in the player's pinky.

When I was in Vegas this past week I was looking for lines to bet for the Olympics, but did not find them. Apparently they exist, and it is a good thing I did not find them because the US was not even close to covering against Angola.

This is a great photo I've found from SLAM online.

Shaq is expanding his old childhood town.

I'm disappointed that Team USA does not want to try the new foods in China.

If you have not been/heard of the site hoopedia.com, then go to it. It is wikipedia for basketball so you can look up the starting lineup for the 90's Bulls and look like you knew it all along.

Picture Sources: usabasketball.com (first), espn.com (second), nydailynews.com (third)