2009 NBA Offseason Thread

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Windmill360

lol what about when players are laying on the floor after a foul. No one to help them up?

Teammates are already sharing locker rooms, so I don't think not shaking hands is going to make any difference. I would assume they're talking about people on opposing teams.

[mavErika]

Don't know where to put it, but I followed a link in one of these top 10 lists (top 10 meltdowns of the decade: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,190878 ) to an interview from 2008 with Oregonian writer/columnist John Canzano: http://thebiglead.com/?p=5319

Sorry if that's old news to you, but I was just blown away by his jailblazers anecdotes, so I needed to post them here:

Q: There was a stretch there when the Blazers were the biggest joke in the league. We’ll get to the Oden era in a moment but first, we’d like your three best (told or untold) JailBlazer stories. And somewhat related - living in a relatively small city, were you ever mildly worried about your safety, especially since the cops said Zach Randolph rolled with gangbangers?

Jason Quick, The Oregonian beat reporter who covers the team, has seen far more than me. He deserves some kind of honorary beat-reporter medal for enduring what was the worst locker room in all of professional sports. There’s wide speculation among some Blazers employees that Sebastian Telfair was not accidentally carrying that gun on the plane in Boston that day he was busted for a concealed weapon, but that he was carrying the gun all the time because Telfair might have feared the entourage of a couple of teammates who didn’t like him. Maybe he had reason. Just before he was traded to the Knicks, someone on the gang enforcement team at Portland Police Department told me to pick up the MTV Cribs episode that featured Zach Randolph because the police had a copy, and noticed some disturbing details about the unsavory people who hung around Randolph.

Nevermind…

Here’s three random ones, off the top of my head…

Whenever the Blazers sign a player to a 10-day contract the equipment manager provides the player with a free set of team-issue luggage. Sort of a welcome gift. Nothing incredibly fancy, but it’s way better than the stuff I have. So Omar Cook is signed a couple of years ago, and the luggage is placed in front of his locker. Cook was flying in from out of town, so he’s not there yet. Ruben Patterson, the team’s registered sex offender, sees the luggage, knows Cook isn’t around yet, and Patterson basically just decides he’s going to abscond the luggage. He just rips the name tags off and takes it. Nobody says a word, either. It’s not anything violent, but it demonstrates the lack of decency and respect that permeated.

Another time, in the visiting locker room in Dallas, I had Rasheed Wallace threaten to punch me after a playoff-game loss. Deadline was approaching, I’m the only writer in the locker room and I’m asking Rasheed questions, and he whips around, and tells me to get out of his space or he’s going to punch me out. At that point, his teammates are all looking to see how I react, and in no way am I going to back down. I’m looking at Rasheed, and thinking if he takes a swing I’m going to try and stuff him into the locker behind him if only because journalists everywhere need me to man up in that situation. Either that, or I’m going to get knocked out and blow my deadline. So I tell him I’m not moving. I just stand there, holding my notepad and recorder, and we’re staring at each other. He eventually storms past me to the shower, and while he’s gone Zach Randolph, a rookie then, leans in to me and says, “When ‘Sheed comes back, make sure you don’t have your back to him. He’ll sucker punch you.” The great irony is that a month later Randolph sucker-punched Ruben Patterson during a practice breaking his eye socket. Someone was holding Patterson’s arms when Randolph threw the haymaker. There was a period of a few days after that incident where Randolph hid out at Dale Davis’ house because he feared that Patterson was going to try and shoot him.

Here’s my favorite story, though. Blazers back-up centers Ha Seung Jin and Nedzad Sinanovic were locked in the Blazers practice facility together for the summer, playing against each other because they needed the work. Ha, who is 7-foot-3, had come back from South Korea out of shape, then was hampered by tendinitis in his knee, and so he’s getting schooled by the 7-foot-4 Sinanovic, from Bosnia.

The two were tussling and tangling on the court. It’s getting pretty heated, and they’re yapping and cussing at each other, most of which neither can understand because of the language differences. And as the players usually do at the end of a workout, the two players were shooting free throws together in silence. Sinanovic went first, then it was Ha’s turn.

Peaceful enough.

That is, until Sinanovic made his final free throw, then retrieved the basketball and held it. I mean, it was like watching kids bicker and fight. Ha walked over and snatched the ball back. Then, Sinanovic said something unkind and two men ended up on the ground in a pile of swinging elbows and fists.

The fight was broken up by Blazers trainers and team managers, who are all about two feet shorter than the two players. Ha, who took a good punch in the face from Ned, was screaming, “I’ll sue! I’ll sue!”

The two were escorted to different areas of the practice facility to cool off. Normally the story would end here. Except Ha’s neutral corner happened to be the team weight room. He picks up one of those long wooden poles that players use to stretch. Ha just comes running out of the weight room swinging the pole and screaming expletives in Korean. He really went after Sinanovic, who blocked one swing with his forearm but took another shot in the ribs before someone ripped the pole (think: closet dowel) from Ha’s hands and threw it across the courts.

If you didn’t have the fight in you before you came to Portland, you soon found it.

Q: During the low point of the JailBlazers era, as the story goes, someone working with the organization bought www.johncanzano.com in an attempt to harass you. Is this story true, and if so, how’d you find out? What was your reaction? Was the troublemaker fired?

This is a true story, yes. And I thought it was creepy. I still do. This all went down at a time when management in Portland was busy trying to make life as difficult as possible for anyone who dared criticize the organization. Management totally had its eye off the ball. I learned that a department head registered the domain name from a source inside the team’s front office. I still don’t know what they planned to do with the site. The only explanation I ever got was she registered the domain name on the advice of team president Steve Patterson, who brought the issue up in a staff meeting. So no, she wasn’t fired. She probably got a raise. I now own that domain name. By the way, someone else owns firejohncanzano.com. That one feels like it has a chance to be something someday.

Suddenly Delonte West looks like a reasonable, young man.

[EricaLubarsky]

the Ha story gives me a good laugh.

[sefant77]

Read that a week ago, good laughs.

[mavErika]

Artest downplays Cuban's comments

Artest said he was told about Mark Cuban's comments by his "Twitter friends," in which the Dallas Mavericks owner suggested that Artest would upset the Lakers' chemistry.

"I talked to Kobe [Bryant] about it," Artest said. "He said that's what happens when you're a Laker."

In an ESPN radio interview in Dallas, Cuban said: "Could you imagine? Ron Artest has got the ball and Kobe's standing there, 'Throw me the ball.' Thank you, Ron Artest."

Artest viewed Cuban's comments as entertainment.

"As long as you can play basketball, work hard, come to work every day, get your training in, get your extra work in, I think it's important that the fans get entertained," Artest said. "It's important that Mark Cuban says stuff like that. It's great for the fans. It's something to read and it keeps it interesting.

"Nobody is really getting hurt. It's just words. I think the fans like that. That's why I love this game."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,2107463.story

I guess that's a good thing to hear that Artest doesn't hold a grudge against Cuban (if he's not just smart enough to hide his anger). No need for extra-motivation at their "home-opener"(they play the Clippers on Oct.27), and unlike K-Mart we've seen him go into the stands before.

[sefant77]

Yes i know why i got pretty disappointed during the draft why we didnt buy quick a early 2nd rounder to catch Blair...

[dirt_dobber]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Yes i know why i got pretty disappointed during the draft why we didnt buy quick a early 2nd rounder to catch Blair...

agree. his line was impressive (even though...against the Rockets and pre-season)
22min.....6 of 15 from the field.....19 rebounds (8 offensive / 11 def.)....2 assists...1 steal...2 turnovers

[MavsFanFinley]

A lot of GM's are going to be kicking themselves by passing on Blair. He had an impressive SL but we all know the competition is not the same. And while it was only against the Rockets big men (Scola, Hayes, and Landry) in his first preseason game Blair was more than impressive.

The scoring is a surprise but it comes mostly off junk baskets. Nothing wrong with that but I didn't know he had that little mid range jumper in his arsenal. Not consistent enough yet but that will come if he keeps working on it. The guys likes to eat rebounds that's for sure.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by MavsFanFinley

A lot of GM's are going to be kicking themselves by passing on Blair. He had an impressive SL but we all know the competition is not the same. And while it was only against the Rockets big men (Scola, Hayes, and Landry) in his first preseason game Blair was more than impressive.

The scoring is a surprise but it comes mostly off junk baskets. Nothing wrong with that but I didn't know he had that little mid range jumper in his arsenal. Not consistent enough yet but that will come if he keeps working on it. The guys likes to eat rebounds that's for sure.

I was going to ask what team this 'Blair' plays for, but if you're talking about it, it could only be that one team in northern mexico that everyone hates.

[EricaLubarsky]

Blair's FG% was utter crap for a guy that is supposed to be low-post. His rebounding was completely skewed because of his many pseudo-rebounds off a single shot, and its not that hard to get rebounds when you are the only rebounder on the floor for any team. We'll see what he can do when he is playing against real competition and with real front-court teammates.

Bonner is sitting in the mid to high post and Mahinmi is a wretched rebounder for his size.

For the Rockets, 6'9" Scola was the biggest guy out there.

Not saying he doesnt have skill, but I highly doubt he will be anywhere near as successful when he has teammates that can rebound and he is actually competing for boards with the opposing team. He has Danny Fortson minus the crazy written all over him

[chumdawg]

Too early to call him Fortson, when he may be Bass or Big Baby.

[EricaLubarsky]

Fortson averaged 8.2, 7.2 on 47% shooting. If your point is that its too early to reduce him to the level of Fortson, I'd say that he'd have to work awfully hard to get to Fortson's level with that 6'6" frame (6'7" in shoes)

Fortson minus Crazy>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Glen "whiney wus-bag" Davis

[chumdawg]

I never saw Fortson as crazy. Fat and lazy...yeah, he was that, eventually. For a while he was very serviceable, though.

Blair has a chance to do something, still. And just because he's fat doesn't mean his upside is Fortson. But then again, as you said, maybe that upside wouldn't be all too bad. I'm sure Blair would love to earn what Fortson did over the course of his career.

[sefant77]

And even if his ceiling is a better Fortson that is less crazy, thats still a steal for a 2nd rounder...

[gscheid]

I thinks we have to enter some SG and C...

The Ringmen 2010:

Plan 1: Marc Gasol/Redd/Jackson


Plan 2: Bogut/Redd/Jackson

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by gscheid

I thinks we have to enter some SG and C...

The Ringmen 2010:

Plan 1: Marc Gasol/Redd/Jackson


Plan 2: Bogut/Redd/Jackson

wat (aggen)

[MavsFanFinley]

This is the around the nba forum right? The place we talk about teams other than the Mavs since they have their own forum right?

[gscheid]

Better?

Jackson & Gasol

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by gscheid

Better?

Jackson & Gasol

a) Wrong thread...

b) Why would we trade 1/3 of our team during the middle of training camp?

[Dirkenstien]

Speaking of Fortson, any one else remember the baked potato jokes? Good times.


Here's where it all started. http://www.dallas-mavs.com/vb/showth...n+baked+potato

[amuseddaysleeper]

Blair, 28 points on 11-13 shooting (15 points in the last 6 1/2 minutes of the game) to lead the Spurs over the Heat 95-93.

[MavsFanFinley]

I know Pop got on him about the 4 rebounds though. lol

The kids crazy good and he's only 20 years old. I hope his knees hold up because he's fun to watch.

I had no idea about that mid range jumper he's been showing off. His passing skills are better than advertised and he has a knack for drawing fouls. But he's definitely a Spur with those missed ft's.

It'll be interesting to see how progresses and adjusts to the season.

[mavErika]

Hollins trying to seduce a high profile raptor:


Bosh's arms say no, but his lips say yes

[EricaLubarsky]

Its cold and chilly along that Canada border. I'm glad the two of them got to warm it up.

Anyway, whats up with Anthony Morrow. The guy is absolutely beastly and no one is talking about him. 54%/48%/93% 20pts, 3reb, 2ast so far in preseason (including a 30point game) and put up great percentages last year too.

[Bayliss]

Anyway, whats up with Anthony Morrow. The guy is absolutely beastly and no one is talking about him. 54%/48%/93% 20pts, 3reb, 2ast so far in preseason (including a 30point game) and put up great percentages last year too.

Because he is playing under Nelson. Nelson can find talent, but many of Nelson's players have a hard time finding the same magic in other systems. Also, under Nellie, a guy who can be on fire one month, pre-all star break, full year... can crash and burn the next when he gets in Nellie's doghouse.

[MavsFanFinley]

Erica, I agree with on Morrow. I know he's not the only undrafted player to make some noise but I think he's a real talent. He plays so hard and wants to get better. He makes shooting look so easy and he's just fun to watch. The defense isn't bad either.

[quietsavant]

watching the clippers v golden state. Bdiddy is back ladies and gentlemen

[grndmstr_c]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

watching the clippers v golden state. Bdiddy is back ladies and gentlemen

Don't worry. He won't stay long.

[quietsavant]

Originally Posted by grndmstr_c

Don't worry. He won't stay long.

lol. He's playing that bully-ish point guard he played the year they faced us. He's attacking with his body. Also claims he's slimmed down from 230 lbs last yr to 212. we'll see but terrific second half from him tonight as they erase a 15pt deficit to control the game in the fourth

[MavsWiLLHaVeRinGs]

Originally Posted by quietsavant

Bdiddy is back ladies and gentlemen

I don't think any of us missed him.

[MavsFanFinley]

Did you see Morrow's line for the night?

32 pts, 10-16, 6-8, 6-6, 5 rbs, 4 as, 1 to, 4 stls, 2 blks

[dirt_dobber]

Warriors update: Details of the Stephen Jackson-Don Nelson on-court confrontation

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakam...confrontation/

* 10:54 p.m. update: Marcus Thompson II talks to Stephen Jackson, who says his outburst happened when he felt the coaching staff didn’t have his back while he was picking up fouls guarding Kobe Bryant. SJax also said he’d report to the team and be a professional, but clearly is still hoping to be traded. Hmm, sounds familiar, but very interesting. Excellent get by MT-2.

* Stephen Jackson, Don Nelson and Larry Riley are supposedly meeting tomorrow, when the Warriors have their first practice at home after a long LA road trip. This will be interesting.

-According to a highly-placed NBA source, Stephen Jackson’s two-game suspension was the result of a multi-stage confrontation with Don Nelson during Friday’s game in Los Angeles.

First, as Jackson was in the process of picking up five fouls in about nine minutes guarding Kobe Bryant–and not getting pulled by Nelson–a seething Jackson screamed that he was sick and tired of receiving no support from the Warriors (or Nelson).

At this point, Jackson was presumably referring to Nelson not standing up for Jackson with the replacement referees, or not taking him out when he was in obvious foul trouble.

The source said that Jackson’s fury was understood to include the bigger picture–that the Warriors weren’t supporting him with promised player additions and maybe that Nelson wasn’t supporting him, generally. (Of course, Jackson has publicly asked to be traded and has yet not been traded.)

That outburst, alone, would not have gotten Jackson suspended.

But, according to the source, the more serious incident occurred moments later, when Nelson was trying to calm Jackson down.

Nelson told Jackson to head back to the locker room, take a shower and cool down.

Nelson apparently also put his hand on Jackson at the same time, to settle the situation (he thought).

Jackson immediately roughly brushed off Nelson’s hand, and, according to the source, told him loudly never to do that again and included many more angry words directed at Nelson.

Jackson went to the locker room and stayed there, apparently without further incident. But Warriors management apparently was concerned enough to keep Jackson away from Nelson for at least a few hours.

[MavsFanFinley]

So much for Jackson maturing and putting his attitude behind him. His contract is not that friendly so throw in the on/off court antics and some teams won't bother taking a chance on him. He's not really helping his cause especially if the Warriors stand firm on getting fair value for him.

[EricaLubarsky]

Carlisle knows that attitude first hand.


And for what its worth, Artest may have inhereted all the blame for the famous brawl, but Jackson acted the worst of any player out there. When the fight first started amongst the players he was tearing at his shirt and had to be held back by Carlisle. After hell broke loose, he just ran up into the stands windmilling one fan and slamming another fan's head into the fold-up portion of a seat. After Artest knocked one guy down, Jackson repeatedly punched the fan in the face while he was down and was still punching when staff pulled him away then began kidney punching some other fan as he was pulled toward the tunnel. He didn't even care who he hit. Even after he was escorted off, he pulled off his shirt and was reported to have repeatedly scream that he was going to kill someone. Its one thing to have a quick fuse, its another to be a powder keg ready to go off at any time with no safety and no turn-off nob.

Nelson may have a reputation for angering players with his low-support, sometimes illogical tactics and dont-question-me attitude, but that response from Jackson was ridiculous.

I'm personally glad that we had nothing to do with Jackson and hope we dont change our minds either. Jackson is as angry as Artest is eccentric (insane) and thats not what we need on this team. We already have Howard who can require some kid gloves at times. We dont need to be the 90s Jailblazers to compete in the conference finals.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by MavsFanFinley

Did you see Morrow's line for the night?

32 pts, 10-16, 6-8, 6-6, 5 rbs, 4 as, 1 to, 4 stls, 2 blks

The guy is talented. You can laugh off that its in Nelson's system or that he's on a losing team, but no one shoots 56%/55%/95% on accident. Those are astounding shooting numbers.

[MavsFanFinley]

I don't laugh it off. He's put up numbers like these in the regular season so it's not some fluke preseason showcasing.

He became one of my favorite players last season. I like his attitude and he doesn't take any of it for granted.

[dirno2000]

I don't think anybody laughs it off. Nellie found him another one. Just like he found Strickland, Azuibike(sp) and probably a ton of others that I'm forgetting. Even Watson was a pretty good find.

[Windmill360]

i laugh

bwahahahhahahahah

[dirt_dobber]

Things are getting real ugly in GS
Among the gems in this article.....
He called out his teammates
(Bryant) was just playing dirty
~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+~-+

Jackson also dislikes teammates, refs, Kobe

Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...SP9D1A5N01.DTL

(10-14) 21:49 PDT -- Warriors coach Don Nelson said Wednesday that he wouldn't be offering daily updates on Stephen Jackson's mood, but that didn't stop the disgruntled swingman from spouting off once again.

A day after abandoning his captaincy, speaking of a strained relationship with Nelson and reiterating that he wants out of Golden State, Jackson went a step further. He called out his teammates for the first time this season.

"Nobody reacted but me, so the team didn't have a reaction," Jackson said after practice Wednesday, referring to his emotionally charged matchup with Kobe Bryant on Friday. "It was only me standing up for myself. I don't think anybody else stood up for me.

"But if the shoe were on the other foot, I would have stood up for somebody on my team, and they didn't do the same for me."

Jackson wanted someone - the coaching staff or his teammates - to back him when he and Bryant tussled through the preseason game's opening 10 minutes. Instead, Jackson picked up five personal fouls and a technical, got into a shouting match with Nelson on the sideline, was sent to the locker room and later was suspended for two games.

"To beat a dead horse, (Bryant) was just playing dirty," Jackson said. "He was getting favoritism out there. I'm not saying the refs were cheating. I'm not saying that at all. I think he was getting away with stuff that I couldn't get away with, and I didn't think it was fair.

"So I reacted on it, and if it happens again, I'm going to react the same way."

If that wasn't enough, Jackson set himself up for a potentially precarious rematch with Bryant. The Warriors play the Lakers again Tuesday in Ontario (San Bernardino County).

"I'm not a fan of Kobe. I'm not somebody who looks up to him," Jackson said. "I'm a grown man, so when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I'm just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or the notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the NBA.

"I think everybody should feel like that. Everybody should be a competitor, and I don't back down from anybody. I've never been like that, and I'm not going to start today."

Options exercised: The Warriors made official their decisions to pick up the fourth-year option on Brandan Wright and the third-year option on Anthony Randolph, keeping both players through at least the 2010-11 season.

Under the terms of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, the first two years of a first-round draft pick's contract are guaranteed, with the team having options for the third and fourth years. Wright will make $3.398 million and Randolph will make $1.966 million in 2010-11.

"They're both intriguing young players," Nelson said. "They still need to develop, and we assume that they're going to do that. We like both of them very much, and we think we have a nice anchor position at (power forward) now."

Injury updates: The Warriors were down to nine players at Wednesday's practice, with seven players sitting out with injuries or illness. ... Randolph missed his second consecutive practice with a bruised lower back but said he expects to play in the Warriors' next preseason game, which is Saturday at Sacramento. ... Ronny Turiaf and Devean George continued to rehab with sore left knees. ... Acie Law sat out with a sprained left ankle. ... Mikki Moore was sick. ... Kelenna Azubuike was not listed on the team's injury report, but he missed practice, presumably with the sprained left ankle that caused him to miss the second preseason game. ... Wright could miss as much as six months after shoulder surgery Friday.

[sefant77]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar...e_for_jackson/

Do they really wonder about that???

Thats exactly his trade value considering his age, contract and character issues.

Btw Grizzlies gonna be FUN this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg-5n27cbiM