FIVEmag NBA basketball blog

Greg Oden Injured Again

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:37:05 +0000

The Portland Trailblazers have made some of the worst draft choices in the history of the NBA. Many make the argument that it all started in 1974 with Bill Walton as the 1st overall pick by the Blazers, but anyone with an ounce of knowledge would never refer to this pick as a bust. Yes, Bill Walton’s career did not span as long as Portland hoped for, but in his 4 seasons with the Blazers, Walton brought a championship to the city in 1977, was named MVP in 1978, and was named to all defensive teams in 1977 and 1978. I wouldn’t call that a bust. How about you?

Sam Bowie, number 2 pick (1984)–no question, one of the biggest busts ever. Not choosing Michael Jordan with the second overall pick in the 1984 draft–knowing what we know about Michael Jordan, we have to call this a terrible decision, even though Portland had good reason to pass on Jordan since they already had a pretty good shooting guard on their roster in Clyde Drexler. And now Greg Oden?

Blazers’ center Greg Oden broke his left kneecap in Saturday’s game against the Houston Rockets and will miss the remainder of this season. Oden’s career began in a delay as he was forced to sit out his entire rookie season due to microfracture surgery on his right knee. A bone chip in his left knee sidelined Oden once again last year for 14 games. It doesn’t take a genius to see the pattern in these injuries. Not only are these knee injuries, but they are very severe ones that a lot of players never come back from.

It is difficult for anyone to stay positive and optimistic in such a case. Greg Oden himself is having doubts as well, I’m sure. Of course, he will have the best doctors available to him in his recovery, but it will be a hard task to make a comeback and be productive once again. Certainly not dominant, but a very solid season this year with averages of 11.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks as a starter helped the organization and fans forget the career Kevin Durant has had thus far. The regret of choosing Oden over Durant with the first overall pick in 2007 will surely return once again to the city of Portland.

In an attempt to be optimistic, one could say Oden was lucky it wasn’t his right knee again that he injured, on which he already had major surgery. Then again, maybe this would have been better. Maybe he would have been better off injuring his already weaker knee than suffering such a serious injury to his good leg. One learns to play with a weaker knee or leg by being more careful and favoring one leg over the other. This is a difficult task with two bad knees. One can only hope that Greg Oden is an exception, and that he will be able to make a full recovery and resume his NBA career.

Sixers offer Allen Iverson Deal

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:36:31 +0000

The Philadelphia 76-ers have offered guard Allen Iverson a non-guaranteed contract for the remainder of this season, according to a source from within the organization.

Head coach Eddie Jordan and team president Ed Stefanski held a meeting with Iverson that lasted 2 hours to discuss the possibility of the 34-year old 10-time All-Star returning to his former team. Both sides stated afterwards that no deal or decision had been made, and that it was nothing but a meeting to talk about the possibility of Iverson’s return to Philly.

However, Iverson still hasn’t agreed to the deal. One can only hope that he will, but knowing Iverson’s history, he may very well view this non-guaranteed contract offer as insulting and pass on the offer. If Allen Iverson has any common sense at all, he will gladly accept and get back on the court on Monday versus one of his former teams, the Denver Nuggets, to whom Iverson was traded in 2006. The Sixers are hopeful to get Iverson’s signature on the dotted line ASAP and to have him on the court on Monday, according to sources close to the matter.

Iverson’s departure from Philly was not a happy one as the former MVP was traded away after 10 seasons with the Sixers. But 3 years should have healed at least some of those wounds. Why wouldn’t he want to go back home to the place where he enjoyed the most success? Why wouldn’t he jump on the chance to possibly end his career on a positive note, wearing the Sixers jersey that made him Allen Iverson?

When Iverson was traded to Denver in 2006, he and Andre Iguodala reportedly parted ways on bad terms, so it would be interesting to see if Iverson is able to accept the fact that it is now Iguodala’s team. Though it is possible Iverson would start while Lou Williams is out injured for the next 30 games approximately, he would most likely be coming off the bench once Williams is healthy.

The offer is for somewhere around $650,000, and of course, non-guaranteed, which means that the money would only be guaranteed if Iverson manages to stay on the roster past January 10th.

Iverson Back to Philly?

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:35:30 +0000

Allen Iverson was convinced he would be offered a contract by the New York Knicks last week, and it certainly did sound as if the Knicks were seriously considering signing the 34-year old guard. When the team decided to pass on Iverson, news quickly broke that The Answer would announce his retirement. Iverson made it known how much he would like to play in Mike D’Antoni’s system. Don’t have to play any defense, shoot it whenever you want–yeah, of course Allen Iverson would love to play for a coach like that.

Then the Knicks fnally recalled the headaches caused by their former #3, Stephon Marbury. Remember him? He was still a Knick last year, though it seems like it was ages ago. After such an experience, why would you even consider bringing in a player like Iverson, whose reputation as a person isn’t much different than Marbury’s? I’m sure most Knicks fans are glad the organization chose to exercise their common sense for once.

When your name is Allen Iverson and your former coaches have to call around the league and beg teams to give you a chance to play because nobody wants you, that is when you probably start realizing it might be time to hang them up and make peace with reality. Worst of all, the reality is that Allen Iverson is the only one to blame for his situation. He could be the best bench player in the league, and potentially help a team to a championship, but his stupidity and ego apparently won’t allow him to think that way. While with the Grizzlies earlier in the season, Iverson was reported to have shouted from the back of the bus “I played for a dumb **** last year and I’m playing for one now!” Would you want something like that on your team?

Well, apparently the Philadelphia 76-ers are one team that is willing to at least think about it. Yes, the Sixers are seriously considering bringing back their former star, whom their traded away to the Nuggets in 2006. Why? First of all, guard Lou Williams is out for 2 months with a broken jaw. Secondly, the Sixers are averaging only 11,000 fans. Allen Iverson would undoubtedly fill the empty seats. Despite everything, Iverson is still loved by Philly fans and they would surely love to have him back.

Coach Eddie Jordan, as well as the management have already commented and confirmed the rumors. Jordan makes no secret of his admiration for Iverson. The Sixers are a boring team to watch right now, and who can blame fans for not wanting to pay hundreds of dollars to watch boring basketball? It’s one thing when you’re a Spurs fan, and you know that your team’s boring type of play could very well bring you a championship at the end of the year, just as it already has numerous times with Duncan and company. But when your team is boring to watch and losing, then it becomes a different story.

So why not? The more I think about it, the more sense it actually makes for the Sixers to sign Iverson. He is familiar with most of the players, he still has a lot left in the tank, and fans would flock to the arena just to watch Iverson play. The only question is if Iverson is willing to accept being a role player. It is Andre Iguodala’s team now, who played with Iverson when it was Iverson’s team. I am not sure if Iverson would be able to accept having to play second fiddle, so to speak, especially considering that it wasn’t that long ago when he played first, second and third in a Sixers uniform.

Trouble in D.C.

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:10:21 +0000

The Washington Wizards were expected to be a much better team than last year, but the year has thus far been nothing but a disappointment. With the hiring of Flip Saunders as the new head coach, and Gilbert Arenas returning from injury, expectations automatically grew from within the organization but also from the fans. Standing at a record of only 3 wins and 9 losses, the first fingers are already being pointed.

When asked about the team’s struggles, Gilbert Arenas explained how some players are failing to make the sacrifices that he has made for the team and that certain guys are just unwilling to adapt. “I think the only person who actually had to sacrifice was me. Everybody else can just play their game”, Arenas said. The Wizards offense of old was certainly much different. Players had all the freedom in the world, and every offensive play was basically an isolation. Saunders does not allow as much of one-on-one play, which Arenas obviously does not like. However, when one looks at Gil’s statistics, it becomes evident that this so-called sacrifice of his is not as big as he makes it out to be. Arenas averaged 20.9 field goal attempts per game during the Eddie Jordan era. His “sacrifice” in shots per game is 1.6, as Agent Zero is averaging 19.3 field goal attempts during the current season. So maybe Arenas should take that pointing finger of his and turn it into his own direction.

Arenas was very blunt about the team’s struggles as he talked about individual players and who is doing what wrong. This basically came down to one player: Caron Butler. Arenas believes that Butler is slowing down the offense because he is not taking the shots that he should take and because Butler is a player who needs isolation plays in order to be effective. Such statements coming from Gilbert Arenas, one of the, if not THE most ball-dominating player in the league, is really quite hilarious to me. His talent is unique, there is no argument about that. However, the same is said of Allen Iverson and he is currently without a job because of his inability to adapt and sacrifice. Arenas is a very similar player to Iverson in that regard. He too needs the ball in his hands at all times and is unable to be effective otherwise. Or at least unwilling to even try. “It is very hard to win with a guy who dominates the basketball so much”, a GM said of Arenas.

Arenas even went as far as to exclude Caron Butler when asked which players were responsible for resolving such matters. “Me and Antawn [Jamison]. That’s our jobs [as captains].” Of course, Caron Butler is one of the three captains with Jamison and Arenas. Never ever have I heard Caron Butler being called anything close to a selfish player, but Arenas of all people seems to think differently. One has to wonder what his definition of a selfish player even is. When being called out by reporters on these strange complaints and claims, Arenas explained that he simply needs Butler to hesitate and dribble less when he gives him the ball. “I just want him to shoot when I pass it to him”, Arenas said.

Arenas and Butler met behind closed doors on Monday, and their feud was resolved, both players stated. My feeling tells me we won’t have to wait long to hear from Agent Zero again on this particular matter.

Tracy McGrady Feels Unwanted

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:19:20 +0000

Almost 10 months have passed since Tracy McGrady has been on the court in a Rockets uniform. Once regarded as the franchise player and one of the best in the league, McGrady is today somewhat of the forgotten man in Houston. Trevor Ariza is now wearing T-Mac’s old number 1, and playing quite impressively while doing so. November 18th was his target date for his return to the court, so while in Minneapolis on Wednesday for a game against the T-Wolves, T-Mac put his new #3 uniform on and warmed up with his teammates. He later walked past head coach Rick Adelman, who was very surprised and shocked to see McGrady in uniform knowing that he had not been activated yet.

This led to Adelman requesting a meeting immediately with McGrady. According to sources, the exchange behind closed doors got quite loud at times, which could be heard even from the locker room. The motivation behind T-Mac’s stunt was to get his coach’s attention, as he had been feeling unwanted and unwelcome. In the meeting, McGrady demanded of Adelman to tell him exactly whether he wanted him back on the team and what his timetable for his return was. McGrady feels ready to return to the court and wishes to be activated, but Adelman disagrees and thinks McGrady needs more practice time.

Tensions have been building ever since McGrady decided to have season-ending surgery on his knee in February, without telling the team first, but announcing it to the media instead. Adelman was very upset, and understandably so. Ever since, communications between McGrady and Adelman have been almost non-existent.

Earning the league’s highest salary of $23.2 million this season in the final year of his contract, McGrady is rumored to be shopped around. Though it is a very high salary, there are always teams looking for expiring contracts. McGrady has always been thought to be an injury-prone player, and even one who has been unwilling to play through injuries, which is expected of the great ones especially. Such criticisms have been voiced repeatedly by Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson, who believe that McGrady has not lived up to his true potential.

At the age of 30 now, T-Mac is still a relatively young player. Many have written him off and believe his best days to be behind him. One can only hope they are wrong and that McGrady is able to get back to his old self, as he was truly one of the unique ones when he was healthy.

–am

Iverson Looking for New Team

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:16:52 +0000

Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to part ways and to void their contract. When Iverson left the team last week because of a “family matter”, it was clear AI would in most likelyhood never return to the team. The Grizzlies made it official yesterday, as they waived the guard. Iverson is now free to sign with any team, if he is able to find one that is actually willing to take him.

Iverson has already contacted Charlotte and New York, among other teams, expressing his desire to play for them, but the answers have not been very enthusiastic ones. Larry Brown has a talented group of young players, and he knows adding Iverson would only hurt their development. Cleveland has already said that they have zero interest. Only New York seems to at least want to entertain the idea of signing Iverson. After a 1-10 start, the Knicks are slowly becoming desperate. Allen Iverson would at least bring some excitement to the Garden. The goal for the Knicks is still to make it through the season somehow and to develop their young players. And then to sign LeBron James in the Summer, of course.

I can not imagine any other team besides the Knicks being willing to bring in Iverson. Even they will probably realize that the negatives largely outweigh the positives, and decide to pass. Therefore, I expect The Answer to remain without a team.

Stephen Jackson to Charlotte

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:00:02 +0000

If you complain and annoy enough, they will trade you! It worked out for Stephen Jackson. His demands were finally answered, as the Golden State Warriors and the Charlotte Bobcats completed a trade on Monday that sent Stephen Jackson and Acie Law to the Bobcats, in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell.

Golden State was hoping to get much more, but they soon realized that the market value for Jackson was not as they expected. The trade would have happened weeks ago, had the Warriors not demanded that Charlotte includes Boris Diaw in the package, whom they did not want to give up.

Jackson originally wished to be traded to either San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, New York, or Cleveland, but according to sources, Jackson is not disappointed about ending up in Charlotte and is happy to be a Bobcat. Larry Brown certainly has the experience in dealing with difficult personalities. Having coached Allen Iverson, one could say Brown has earned a PhD in the field.

In his debut as a Bobcat on Monday, Jackson played 45 minutes and scored 13 points on 4-14 shooting from the field.

King James Wants NBA To Retire #23

admin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:54:33 +0000

A basketball player never picks a jersey number randomly. There is always a story behind it. One usually chooses a number in the youth and sticks with it. Whether it is because of a favorite player, or whatever the case may be, there is always a good reason. And if at some point the number one wants to wear is taken, you will try anything and everything to somehow get your number back. If you’re rich enough, like Chris Webber, you can just pay for it. When Webber was traded from Sacramento to Philadelphia in 2004, and his #4 was worn by Andre Iguodala, C-Webb had to trade a brand new Rolex watch for his number. Iguodala has been wearing #9 ever since.

Lebron James wears #23 as a tribute to Michael Jordan, whom he calls the greates player ever. Most would not disagree with LBJ on that topic. After a game in Miami, which His Airness attended, James told reporters that he would like the NBA to retire Jordan’s #23 and that nobody should be allowed to wear the number ever again. James plans to change his number next season, most likely to #6, which he wore as a member of the USA team.

The league has never retired a player’s number. Only individual teams have done so until now. And as much power as Lebron’s word carries in the NBA, I can not imagine that they would listen to the King on this matter. Michael Jordan is arguably the best player who has ever laced them up, no question. But do we really need to retire his #23 league-wide just to validate his greatness? I say NO!

It is a great and humble gesture by Lebron, I will give him that. However, he fails to recognize what this would mean for the game. If you do this for Michael Jordan, then what about Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell? When asked what he thought about Lebron’s suggestion and plans to change to #6, Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers said “he knows who wore #6, right?”. He was referring to the Celtics great Bill Russell, of course.Retiring #23 would be disrespectful to all the other Greats. Michael Jordan has a statue, is mentioned by most of today’s players when asked about their idols, and is called by his former rivals like Larry Bird and Charles Barkley THE GREATEST EVER. There is no need to elevate MJ any higher than he already is!

Byron Scott Fired

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:15:28 +0000

It is never a question if any coaches will get fired during each new NBA season, but it is always who will be the first one to get the boot? And the winner of the current season is Byron Scott of the New Orleans Hornets!

According to sources, Scott was already on shaky ground after last season’s 1st round exit in the playoffs. It was believed he would be let go then, but Chris Paul’s support of Scott saved his job. Not even Chris Paul could help Scott this time around. After a very disappointing 3-6 start, the Hornets’ management decided to part ways with their former coach of the year (2008). General manager Jeff Bower will be replacing Scott for now. Tim Floyd, who is best known for coaching the Iowa State Cyclones (1994-1998), USC (2005-2009) in the college ranks, but also held stints with the Chicago Bulls (1998-2001) and the New Orleans Hornets (2003-2004), has been hired as Bower’s top assistant.

Though New Orleans is $3 million over the league’s $69.9 million luxury-tax threshold, their large payroll has not translated into wins this year. Looking at the Hornets’ roster, one can clearly see that this large payroll is deceiving and not necessarily a sign of good talent. Chris Paul is arguably the best guard in the league, and David West is a solid player himself, but there isn’t much balance after those two. Peja Stojakovic has been coming off the bench and is averaging a pathetic 8.7 ppg, the lowest since his rookie season where he averaged 8.4 per game. More is expected of a player who is making almost $14 million. A shooter never loses his shot, and Stojakovic is certainly still capable of averaging 20 a game, but he is just too much of a liability on the defensive end. Throughout his 11 years in the league, nobody ever accused Peja of being a defensive stopper, and now at the age of 32 his inability to defend has become more evident than ever before.

Swapping Tyson Chandler with Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats during the off-season was a move that was seen by most as a lateral one. It was not a trade that seemed to improve the Hornets’ roster, which has been confirmed thus far as Okafor is averaging 11 ppg, 9.8 rpg, and 2 bpg. These are not bad stats, but New Orleans could have simply kept Chandler, who has very similar stats to those of Okafor. When you make a trade, the goal is to improve. This did not happen here. The trade only hurt the team’s chemistry.

The Hornets management is worrysome about keeping their star guard Chris Paul happy, and rightfully so. A player of his caliber will not tolerate mediocrity for very long. Who knows. Maybe this coaching change will turn out positive for New Orleans. Luckily for them, there are still 73 regular season games to be played.

Iverson Gone from Memphis

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:16:59 +0000

At least for now. Allen Iverson has left the team after receiving permission from Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley to do so. The Grizzlies management is referring to this as a leave of absence due to “a personal matter”. When asked about the situation, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins stated that he only knew it was indefinite, and granted by the owner, but did not know what the exact reason is. Hard to believe a coach does not know why his player leaves the team barely 2 weeks into the season.

Iverson has been vocal in the media about his unhappiness with coming off the bench, and has once again become a distraction to the team. Players, coaches, and management have obviously been growing more and more frustrated with the situation. Before and after games, the questions are always the same, and never about the actual games. How is Allen Iverson fitting in? Is he becoming a distraction? What do you think of Iverson’s role on the team? Is Iverson going to remain in his current role as a bench player, or is he eventually going to start?

But don’t expect the questions to stop just because Iverson isn’t there as of right now. It should only get worse. We really do not know much about the situation, and it is only natural to wonder what exactly is going on with the Grizzlies. The fans certainly have the right to know what it happening with their team.

While I expected Iverson and the Grizzlies to part ways sometime during the season, I still thought it would take a little longer than 6 games into the season. The organization is calling this a temporary thing, but experts believe that this could very well be it for Iverson in a Grizzlies uniform.

There are no takers for Iverson, so a trade is out of question right now. The only possibilities are a buy-out of Iverson’s 1 year $3 million contract, or if the Grizzlies simply asked him to stay away from the team until they are able to move him.

FIVEmag NBA basketball blog

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