Uncontested Shots – NBA News, Notes, and Observations From a Self-Described B-Ball Geek
By Editorial Staff
It’s only been three days since the start of free agency and already we’ve seen a number of players change teams. David Stern has to love the fact that the NBA keeps stealing headlines despite the fact that the season ended on June 14. Its also been a while since an NBA player last got a DUI. Any way we can get a running clock on SCIC in between DUIs?
Can’t say the same about the WNBA though. Someone named Diana Taurasi got cited last night for drunken driving. No word yet on whether or not she’ll still be able to run in this weekend’s American Oaks Invitational at Hollywood Park.
Let’s jump right into my latest round of Uncontested Shots:
Lakers Trade Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest…Kinda
Don’t be surprised if Trevor Ariza fires his agent David Lee before the ink on his contract with the Rockets dries. Lee tried to strong-arm the Lakers into offering his client more money by threatening to take the mid-level from another team if the Lakers didn’t increase their offer. He put out an erroneous story trough ESPN’s Chris Broussard claiming that Ariza was leaning toward leaving the Lakers and signing with either the Rockets, Clippers, Blazers, or Raptors.
How did Mitch Kupchak respond? By signing Ron Artest for either three years and $18 million or for the exact same deal the Rockets gave Ariza—depending on which report you believe.
Now Ariza is going to a team that is in rebuilding mode (sorry, but it’s true Rockets fans) instead of making the same amount of money playing in his hometown for the defending champs. Instead of being at Staples Center when the Lakers raise their 15th banner on opening night, Ariza will get his ring whenever the Rockets make their first trip to Staples Center.
Don’t believe anything you hear from Ariza about him being happy to be in Houston. If two teams were offering you the same amount of money and a starting position and one was the defending champion in your hometown while the other was going to be rebuilding, which would you rather play for?
If Ariza’s honest answer would be Houston then the Lakers should be more than happy he’s gone.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! has the best take on the story. He writes:
“No, this wasn’t about the money, nor his client’s needs. This was a failed power play, an embarrassment of the highest order. Looking back, Ariza will rue the day. He’s a good player, but he’ll never be a star elsewhere. He’ll just be another player on another team.”
Kupchak and Lee have a strange history dating back to last summer when Lee negotiated an extension for Andrew Bynum. Lee loves to use that word “disappointed”. Lee tried to get max money for Bynum despite the fact that Bynum missed the last five months of the season.
In the end Bynum ended up signing a four-year extension for $57 million with the fourth year a team option—hardly the max deal that Lee had envisioned.
If you want to read the worst story on the swap of Ariza and Artest, check out Bill Plashcke’s take in today’s LA Times. Wet Blanket Bill seems to think its the Lakers fault for not giving Ariza more time.
Michael Curry Out in Detroit
The Pistons fired head coach Michael Curry before the start of the free agency. This should have come as a surprise to nobody other than Curry.
In a roundtable discussion I participated in forecasting the 2008-09 season on Bleacher Report, here’s what I wrote after predicting the Pistons wouldn’t streak of six consecutive Conference Finals appearances would be snapped:
“I also think that Michael Curry wasn’t the right choice to replace Flip Saunders. I’ve never been a fan of veteran teams with young head coaches. Most of the time the inmates run the asylum. Don’t be surprised if Curry is replaced next summer.”
Most reports have Avery Johnson poised to be the next head coach of the team. Since Joe Dumars became the Pistons president of basketball operations in 2000 the Pistons have had five coaches, not including their next hire: George Irvine, Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown, Flip Saunders, and Michael Curry.
Note to the Lil’ General: rent don’t buy.
Speaking of the Pistons
I’m not as low on the Pistons signing Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva for a combined $95 million as some others are. Dumars continued his practice of never giving more than $12 million/year to anyone. Take a look at the biggest contracts Dumars has given out over the past few years:
- Tayshaun Prince – five years/$48 million
- Chauncey Billups – six years/$35 million & five years/$60 million
- Rasheed Wallace – five years/$57 million
- Rip Hamilton – seven years/$62 million & three years/$34 million
- Ben Gordon – five years/$55 million
- Charlie Villanueva – five years/$40 million
Now compare that to the deal the Orlando Magic gave Rashard Lewis that will pay him $24 million in 2012-13 when Lewis is 34-years-old or the Sixers paying the 34-year-old Elton Brand $18 million that same year.
I don’t think that Dumars is done. Last week I would have guessed that Hamilton was the next to get traded but with Curry out Prince might be the next to go.
If I’m giving Joe D a letter grade on the signings I’m giving him an INC. His next move will determine what he was thinking with his signing of the two former UCONN Huskies.
One Last Thing on the Pistons
Chris McCosky has a cool little story in the Detroit News about Pistons’ draft pick Jonas Jerebko and Dumars that dates back to the Euroleague Championships in 2001 when Jerebko was 13:
“I remember there was this little kid maybe 12, 13 years old who kept running up and sitting with me, bringing me stat sheets, bringing me cokes and popcorn,” Dumars said. “He was telling me which guys could play and which guys couldn’t play. I basically adopted him for two days and at the end he says to me, ‘One day I want to play in the NBA.’ And I am like, ‘Sure, OK.’
And there he was, eight years later, drafted by the Pistons in the second round.”
Rubio Remanecer en Espana
According to Spanish newspaper El Periodico, Ricky Rubio will remain in Spain and play out the final two years of his contract before joining the NBA.
There are two parts to this story that I have a hard time believing. I don’t believe for a second what Rubio and his father are saying about this being their plan all along. I also don’t believe that new Wolves’ GM David Kahn would have still traded Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Wizards to draft a player that won’t help them in either of the next two seasons.
Believe me, had Rubio been drafted by the Knicks he’d be on their summer league roster with plenty of dough from endorsements to buy out the final two years of his contract.
Here’s what people fail to realize about the NBA and free agency: rarely does a team like Minnesota, Sacramento, or Toronto manage to lure top-tier free agents. So don’t count on the Wolves being able to use their abundance of cap space next summer to attract the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh.
Since signing Chauncey Billups in 2000, the only type of free agents the Wolves have managed to sign are players like Felipe Lopez, Mo Evans, Gary Trent, Mark Madsen, Trenton Hassell, Eddie Griffin (RIP), and Mike James.
With only Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Corey Brewer, Kevin Love, Oleksiy Pecherov, Jonny Flynn, and Wayne Ellington under contract for 2010-11 the Wolves will have plenty of cap space but might have to rely on trades to fill out their roster.
Tweet of the Week
My favorite tweet from this past week came courtesy of Slam Magazine Editor in Chief Emeritus, Ross Bengston. This was Bengston’s response to the Knicks expressing interest in signing 1995 co-Rookies of the Year, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd:
“If the Knicks are pursuing Grant Hill and Jason Kidd, shouldn’t I be reading about it on Netscape Navigator?”
One Last Thing
If you haven’t yet read about how Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com sportswriter Don Seeholzer thought my last round of Uncontested Shots was written by SCIC deity Charles Barkley himself please check out Adam Best’s recap of the story.
Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. Follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.