It's been an interesting stretch in the NBA since last week. It started with Richard Jefferson's trade and the latest news today is a bad one with Yao's foot. OUCH! That could be a real big one not just for Yao and Houston, but to the entire league. Chinese superstars are not dime a dozen and Yao has been NBA's passport and visa to break through the great wall of China and sell the sport to the billion+ people in that country. It's been working so well for the NBA so far. NBA has gotten popular and Kobe and LeBron are big out there. But still they ain't no Yao Ming and the sport will definitely take a step back there without Yao. It's really interesting how the seven footers always seem to have foot problems. It's just too much to ask of those feet to carry 7 ft and 300 pounds of human body. Yao reminds me of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and all the problems he had with his feet. They are saying this could be career threatening for Yao and I just hope he comes back in some shape like Z did. Luckily for Z, he has been trouble free for the last few years.
Closer home, the NBA draft came and went. It was one of the more interesting drafts in recent years because of the many trades around that time. Many big names were moved. Spurs got Richard Jefferson. Great move for the Spurs as always. A young guy to play the 3 who gives them another talented wing scorer and a good shooter. His 3-point shooting has been improving the last few years and he is going to get his shots with Duncan, Parker and Ginobli causing havoc in the paint. Plus he is also an insurance against any more injuries to Ginobli. They will miss Bowen's defense, but they will be much better off with Jeff's youth and athleticism. On top of this, the Spurs added DeJuan Blair who is a great rebounder and thats exactly what they need with all these scorers around. Spurs just know what they are doing. An A-class organization that may again put a team on the court next year that, if healthy, will be very close to the Lakers if not better.
The Magic traded for Vince Carter. Another great addition. Just like the Spurs with Jefferson, they are taking on more salary. If you are willing to take on salary, there is a lot of talent available to be picked up in the NBA these days. The Magic bought Vinsanty back home to Orlando. But to me, they have taken a step back if they can't sign Hedo. Carter is nice, but I would rather have Hedo. That team went to the finals with him. So we know it works. Plus Hedo is unconventional and Vince makes them a lot more conventional. Of course if they also sign Hedo, then it's a whole another conversation, but I doubt if they have the money to do it. Hedo wants to get paid and I don't blame him. With him, Cleveland is in trouble. Without him, the Cavs might have a shot against them.
That brings us to my Suns. The Suns were VERY active in and around the draft. They traded away the Daddy to the Cavs. It was the variation of the same trade that fell through last season. We all know Shaq can't stop Dwight Howard, but he can definitely make him work on both sides of the court. Shaq is still 7 feet tall ad 300+ pounds and you gotta keep an eye on him. Given Howard's aggressiveness, if Shaq makes him pick up 2 fouls, that will be enough help for the Cavs even if Shaq can't sop him at the other end. Plus the Cavs are on the hook for just this year and they can always let Shaq walk if it doesn't work out. At least they would have shown the King that they tried to do something to deal with the Magic and Howard. As for the Suns, it was a salary dump. Fans never like cost-cutting, but what do you do if the team has high-paid veterans making a lot of money and the team can't even make the playoffs? You got to rebuild.
Shaq, Nash and even Amare are not going to get better. So the Suns had to gut this team and rebuild. And in this salary driven league, you got to dump salaries to give yourself a shot at rebuilding. So I am fine with the trade. My motivation as a fan might be different from the owner's, but both of us do agree we need to dump salaries and take a step back. Part of me wants to surround Nash and Amare with other pieces and give it another shot under Alvin Gentry. I always thought Shaq was not a great fit for the Suns and that turned out to be true. They did try the "seven seconds or Shaq" offense with Gentry and scored like 117 points a game or something. I wouldn't mind trying that with Nash, Amare and Tyson Chandler or someone else in the middle. There are rumors that they could trade Ben Wallace for Tyson Chandler as the Hornets are also looking to dump salary. Not sure if the Suns will agree to take on Chandler's pay-checks.
They are not winning the championship in 2010 anyways. So I am not too outraged by the Amare trade rumors either. An even more blatant salary dump from the Suns side, but the Warriors are still not taking the bait. I am hoping the Suns get some young pieces and catch lightning in the bottle with Gentry's up and down system much like what happened in 2004. My only concern is, what's in it for Nash? He may politely request to be traded to a contender too if the team is totally rebuilding and tanking it. If they can convince Nash to stay, I can see them being interesting even with kids like Biedrins, Brandon Wright and Earl Clark - their good pick from this draft. But overall, it's not the best time to be the Suns fan, especially if Nash is also gone. In any case, everybody is waiting for the "big one", the inevitable Amare trade. I expect it to go through in one form or the other. Looks like the Warriors are too attracted to Stephon Curry, but something will work out eventually.
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