March 10, 2005

CELTICS, MAVS CIRCUMVENT RULES AS THOMAS SUFFERS BRAIN CRAMP

       In the end the Boston Celtics found a loophole in the NBA’s salary cap system and acquired Antoine Walker from Atlanta for a couple of scrubs and a pick.  They traded Gary Payton to make the deal fall in line with the rules, but only when the Hawks agreed to waive Payton so he could re-sign with Boston.  The Dallas Mavericks picked up Keith Van Horne for just a couple of scrubs, doing the same deal with Milwaukee and re-signing the traded Alan Henderson.  It is a loophole the NBA has to close in their new collective bargaining sessions.  The San Antonio Spurs were the beneficiary of another Isiah Thomas brain burp, and the New Orleans Hornets managed to rid themselves of their final headaches.  All in all it was a rather interesting trade deadline in the NBA this year, one in which the Toronto Raptors, once again, sat out, and saw many big names and big contracts move.  The Celtics likely made the biggest splash, and the biggest gain, while the 76ers took the biggest gamble, one they will lose, that will likely eliminate any possibility of future success. 

       The pressures of deadlines are unlike any other pressure.  Those of us that have dealt with deadlines can confirm that as the time approaches the stress levels rise dramatically and the heart rates begin to pound.  Decisions that should be mulled over, looked at, conferred about have to be made quickly, and they have to be right.  Some can handle the pressure; some crack under its weight.  I’ve seen some very strong individuals break down under the pressure; one such person once crumpled to the ground in tears as the pressure became too much for her to handle. Another grew so angry that he actually threatened another person with a knife, and might have used it if cooler heads around him did not prevail.  There is some question, around these parts, if Raptor GM Rob Babcock folded under the pressure and decided not to make any move for fear of making the wrong one.  If only Isiah Thomas had that sense of fear the New York Knicks wouldn’t be in such a sorry state of disrepair today.

       To wonder what goes through a man’s mind during a moment of stress is an interesting psychological query.  To imagine what goes through Thomas’ mind though would be more of an environmental one—nothing but the sound of wind and rain.  It reminds me of the great line from Cheers—I wonder what colour the sky is in Thomas’ world.  Is Babcock too much of a managerial neophyte to have found a way to take advantage of the Knicks GM the way the Spurs and the Rockets did?  While the Celtics are making a tremendous trade, and circumventing the NBA rules by re-signing Gary Payton; while the Mavericks are doing the same in trading Alan Henderson and then re-signing him several days later, the Knicks GM went about adding more payroll to his overextended and excessive roster.  What actually went through his mind when he made the decision to deal one his very few young and developing players, Nazr Mohammed, for a an older Malik Rose and his heavy contract must be stunning.  Spurs GM RC Buford and coach Gregg Popovich once again proved to be shrewd dealers as they dumped Rose’s contract and the future contracts of a couple of late first round picks and picked up a solid NBA player, one who is just entering his prime, in Mohammed.  Then to show that he wasn’t simply partial to the Spurs Thomas went out and took one of Houston’s debilitating contracts in Mo Taylor.  Thomas is stupid, but fortunately he’s stupid with more than one team. 

      The difference between Thomas and Philly’s Billy King, the other GM that made a horrible deal, is simply that King was thinking about the present state of his club.  While Thomas simply stockpiles names King wanted to add what he thought would be the final piece to an emerging 76er squad, and give superstar Allen Iverson the help he so desperately sought.  Unfortunately King, and the 76ers, are finding out the reasons why, after several successful years in Sacramento, the Kings, still in the playoff hunt, were so anxious to move him.  Webber is older than his years, he is static on offense, and slow on defense, and is long past the days of being a game changing talent.  For his part Webber still sees himself as a superstar and has already begun complaining about his lack of minutes.  By taking on his monstrous contract Philly has just destroyed any chance they had of building a contender over the next couple of years.  And they probably won’t even make the playoffs this year.

       Another club that took a chance on a broken down superstar was the Golden State Warriors.  Perhaps after years of mediocrity, and in the midst of another miserable campaign, the Warriors likely thought that acquiring Baron Davis from New Orleans was a worthy gamble.   If Davis is able to get healthy this off-season he could team with Jason Richardson to form a deadly backcourt, but the likely scenario is that Davis will continue to be a part-time player--unable to play most games due to his myriad of injuries.  The Warriors, like the 76ers, have taken a gamble that will eventually backfire on them.  For the Hornets, though, they have managed to deal away their aging core of players and have rebuilt the squad around a group of younger talent that, with a couple of years of solid drafting and some shrewd free agent signings, could result in a quick rise up the ladder in the Western Conference.

       Another club that has greatly improved since the beginning of the season is the Houston Rockets.  Give credit to the Rockets management team for quickly recognizing that the team they assembled at the inception of the season was not strong enough to compete in the West.  They needed backcourt help and traded for David Wesley, Jon Barry, Mike James, and Moochie Norris.  Now, after a terrible start to the season, the Rockets are one of the hottest teams in the league and could be a major factor come playoff time. 

       The Kings decided to keep Peja Stoyakovic and trade Webber—they couldn’t keep both.  Webber had become a distraction on the club and his hastily failing abilities made him an extremely overpaid asset.  The Kings must have been gleeful that there was actually a team out there willing to pick up Webber’s bad attitude and his bad contract, and they can now begin to reload for another shot at the title.  The Bucks unloaded salary in attempt to free up enough money to re-sign Michael Redd, the Hawks picked up a draft choice for Walker, the Mavs added some bench scoring in Van Horne, and the Cavs, they hope, added a shooter in Jiri Welsch.  Surprising with their inaction was the Los Angeles Lakers.  Rumoured deals had them trading everyone except Kobe Bryant but when the Utah Jazz pulled Carlos Boozer off the table and the Kings decided to move Webber and keep Peja then the Lakers were left without a trading partner, and with a club that will not make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.  The result will prove, once and for all, that it was Shaq that took the team to its three titles and not Kobe.

       Meanwhile the Raptors stood by and watched all the activity with interest but, according to Babcock, were not presented with an offer the club felt was in their best interests.  Hopefully, for the team and its slowly dwindling fan base, this off-season will prove to be fruitful enough to get this team back on its feet.  As it is I find it hard to believe that nothing of interest was presented to the Raptors.  But then I’m on the outside looking in.