C’mon. Everybody knows that what we’ve got now is the worst period of hoops year, because there’s no NBA action. That is, on the court. But teams are busy even during the off-season. Calls between GMs and players’ agents, the market of FAs, re-signings and waivings and so on. But hey! Even the on-court buzz is higher than expected. That is, NBA summer league(s). It tastes like some grey area of basketball. To me. We lost. And what? Nobody cares. The results aren’t important. The spotlight is on young ‘to-be-stars’ kids trying to learn somethin’ (*Man, did you see Mike Conley the other day?*) or unknown vagabonds (*Man, I can’t believe XY lit ‘em up for 30 points!*). Or on strange things. I’m in amazement when I read the lines like ‘LaMarcus Aldridge is a league veteran’. Crazy.
This blog is supposed to be a mailpouch. And these e-mails hit me lately:
*Can you tell me why the Spurs traded Scola and Butler for a player that doesn’t wanna play in the NBA? Call that move a silly one.* (-Johnny, Bratislava)
At first, here are the fears from Spurs’ fans...
A) I really don't know how this deal benefits the team.
B) The Spurs have shown absolutely no activity on the free agent market.
C) This deal only helps the Rockets, which is another thing that puzzles me, why are you helping your division rival?
Answers...
A) It’s a truth that Vassilis ‘I’m A US-phobic Guy’ Spanoulis doesn't want to come back to play in the NBA. But this deal wasn’t made for getting him. Sometimes you have to give up something big to get something bigger LATER. Spurs really need to get some youth to bring more energy off the bench and this move most likely opened up a roster spot. The Spurs will probably waive James White, but there are other players out there that the Spurs are interested in that could possibly make some contributions right away (Blazers’ Ime Udoka to name just one, who’s a good defender and 3-pt shooter, or Golden State's Mickael Pietrus to name two.). And what if the open spot falls to Ian Mahimni who proves to be a fantastic talent in the near future? And what if Tiago Splitter fills the other spot and proves to be better than Scola? RC knows what he’s doing.
B) That’s a stupid remark. You don’t see behind the scenes. Spurs just don’t have the money/cap space to sign Mo-Pete or Gerald Wallace and only this type of guys makes the headlines.
C) Of course, there’s a possible black side of this trade... however, Luis ‘Everyone In The US Thinks I’m The Next Nowitzki But Nobody Hasn’t Seen Me Play’ Scola was never going to make it onto the Spurs roster with his big buy-out issue. Now it's the Rockets problem. And how ‘bout his transition from Europe to NBA? Jackie ‘I’m In The Paradise And Just Relaxing’ Butler wasn't going to get minutes with the Spurs anyway. And he simply does not fit in the team’s defensive system (he can’t guard his own lunch and is slower than my granddad).
So wait until Spurs’ future moves to evaluate. (P.S.: I don’t say Houston won’t be dangerous with frontcourt of Tracy, Luis and Ming.)
*I’m a devoted Spurs fan. I like them. I haven’t read here anything on how you got engaged with them.* (-Mark D-Mac, Prostejov)
Nice to meet you, Mark. (I guess, ‘D-Mac’ stands for somethin’ like Duncan-Mac. Or Defense-Mac. I need to know how you got your nickname. Fast.) Quickly:
I love the Spurs.
I started rooting for this ball club in the ‘90s, admiring David Robinson’s actions both on and off the court. (Nothing new for a fan of silver and black.). When Tim Duncan got drafted to San Antonio, that was the final part of the puzzle. I’m married with them since 1997-98. Back in the TD’s rookie season, the team with younger Gregg Popovich, Avery Johnson, Vinny Del Negro, Chuck Person, Monty Williams, Sean Elliott or rookie Malik Rose.
Today, my cell phone displays “Go Spurs”.
*Hi. Everybody knows the biggest stars of NBA history. Me, too. Can you name me the players who “suffered” because they have “wrong surname“? Like there was some other great Chamberlain?* (-Tomas Renkovic, Trencin)
Well, if you mean by “wrong surname” that some great players are forgotten just because, for example, Karl Malone is more popular than Moses, you may be right. (Interesting topic, though. I hate when drafts have 5 guys named Williams. It’s a mess/chaos.)
I checked the NBA player register, picked 12 NBA legends (this ain’t meant to be da best 12 hoop-legends roster) and then looked for the same names. Notice, that there’s tons of Johnsons or Robinsons, I simply took (tried to take) the best player bearing that name. You can put them head-to-head in some NBA Live and watch who wins the contest. Who defends MJ? Eddie?
LEGENDS -- YOU-THINK-ON-SOMEBODY-ELSE-WHEN-YOU-HEAR-THIS-NAME SQUAD
Charles ‘Chuck’ Barkley -- Erick Barkley
Larry ‘Legend’ Bird -- Jerry Bird
Wilt ‘Big Dipper’ Chamberlain -- Bill Chamberlain
Tim ‘Big Fundamental’ Duncan -- Andy Duncan
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson -- Kevin Johnson
Michael ‘Air’ Jordan -- Eddie Jordan
Karl ‘...-to-Malone’ Malone -- Moses Malone
Shaq ‘Diesel’ O’Neal -- Jermaine O’Neal
Oscar ‘Triple-Double’ Robertson -- Alvin Robertson
David ‘Admiral’ Robinson -- Glenn Robinson
Bill ’11 Rings’ Russell -- Campy Russell
Isiah ‘Zeke’ Thomas -- Tim Thomas
What about the starting five of Johnson, Robertson, Robinson, O’Neal, Malone? Kevin, Alvin, Glenn, Jermaine, Moses... ball!
*I’m a Magic fan. Any thoughts on Rashard Lewis’s signing?* (-Magic Bohumil, Ostrava)
Sorry Bohumil, but they are insane. To give Lewis a max contract like this!?! AWFUL! They gave a max contract to someone who’s good at one skill - scoring/shooting. And not even that good. What da hell is Orlando’s GM Otis Smith doing and thinking? The Dwight Howard-Lewis combo is good for the 2nd (East) round exit, at best. And don’t think it shall be much better in the future. Even The Darko Milicic Catastrophy, they let him go for nothing. I bet that Stan Van Gundy is with his family come december time. Otis in april: *I’m sorry but Rashard can’t play in the playoffs, his hand is injured...*. Good golly!
Just four e-mails today. One last thought...
...WHY THE MAVERICKS WANT WEBBER AND FRANCIS!?! Wake up, we’re in 2007.
p.s.: maybe steve francis will sign with the clippers and lead them to an nba title right before a pig collides with a jumbo jet. (-randy hill)
p.s.2: when dennis /rodman/ was a young menace, one of his favorite tactics against a powerhouse low-post scorer was to literally poke a finger up his opponent's butt! no lie! (-charley rosen)
p.s.3: andrew bogut has declared that most of his nba peers are "idiots". (-charley rosen)
p.s.4: *a little personality, a little leadership, a little shooting, a little defense - i'm a buffet of goodness.* (channing frye on what he'll bring to the blazers)
p.s.5: /nba's new age limit rule/ *it's a very wise rule because you get to become a young man. see, what i'm going through right now is crazy, with the draft and moving to portland and media. if i didn't have the college experience, i'd be crying on the phone to my mom every night,* said greg oden.
p.s.6: devean george's being prone to missing clutch shots isn't a factor with dallas since he's usually on the bench in the endgame watching others do the same.
(-charley rosen)
p.s.7: *i don’t care if quincy douby is our center, we’re winning the title,* said ron artest.
p.s.8: *Vassilis loves the Spurs, but he desperately wants to stay in Europe,* Spanoulis' agent said. *If somebody does not want to play for such a great team, coach and organization as S.A. is, it's probably clear that he really must stay in Europe. We hope that S.A. will respect his wish.* He should play in the new movie called Desperate Europeans... I don’t get it... desperately?! But S.A. is better off without such a coward.
Posted by Foreigner in CS - Jul 16 2007 6:12PM
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