http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_13646.shtml

"From HOOPSWORLD.com
This Has Got to Stop... "
By Alex Labidou
Aug 3, 2005, 07:34


Like a fuming child who didn't get what he wanted for Christmas, this off-season has left this HOOPSWORLD editor scratching his head. What the heck is going on this year? Last year's off-season had a lot of people excited about the direction of the league changing. We saw Tracy McGrady going to the Rockets, Shaq coming back East; even Jamal Crawford going to the New York Knicks made more sense then this year's off-season moves. To let out my immense disappointment of this off-season, I've decided to detail why this has been one of the most counterproductive off-seasons ever:

- This off-season common theme is finding fringe replacements. Take the Wizards for example. Hey we just lost All Defensive First Teamer Larry Hughes, what's the plan Ernie? Why not sign Career Backup Antonio Daniels, who will be turning 30 soon and totally neglect our Shooting Guard in the wings, Jarvis Hayes. Not to mention that the Wizards really needed another big man desperately with the trade of Kwame Brown, especially if the Wizards finally get smart and start Etan Thomas. Who is going to back up Brendan Haywood, Michael Ruffin or Andray Blatche? That sounds scary to me.....

-Another example of fringe replacements...Is Jerry West trying to sabotage the Grizzles from the ground up? Alright I understand the Grizzles wanting to get rid of nutcase Jason Williams, but to possibly replace him with another nutcase in Damon Stoudamire...Does that make any sense? For all the hype that West has given Earl Watson, why not actually start Watson. Watson is a good defender, can run the point efficiently, might not be the offensive player that Stoudamire or Williams is, but the Grizzles have other weapons and can use some perimeter defense. More on the Grizzles in a second.

-Notice how the Bulls, Nuggets, Sonics, Raptors, Mavericks, Magic, T'wolves or Pistons have been completely uninterested in upgrading their teams? Yes the Magic signed Kenyon Dooling, but once again the Magic signed Kenyon Dooling? Don't they need a shooting guard or a center that can stay five minutes on the court without a foul. The Media needs to stop giving Kiki Vandeweghe the free pass, over the past 2 seasons he has made a lot of disappointing moves, and has had one good draft so far throughout his career. We all know what draft that was... While they will once again be a bubble team, you have to think if they didn't trade for 6 million per Najera, or made the move to get Pietrus for ultra disappointing Nene; they might actually be contenders. The Raptors are slowing making moves to warrant their move out of Canada and into Las Vegas...Imagine if they would have just hired Dr. J. That would of equaled a happy Vince Carter to go along with future superstar Chris Bosh. I am starting to think I am more qualified than Mr. Babcock, but that's a different story. As for the Mavericks, T'wolves, I guess they are taking the safe route, realizing that the Spurs will probably kick their butts again, might as well save money and wait till Tim Duncan plays past his prime. The Bulls need to do something quick, I like Paxson, so for the love of God please do something.

-Alright back to the Grizzles. Notice over the past 3 years, the Celtics have made everyone but themselves title contenders. They helped out the Pistons, 2 years ago by trading for Chucky Atkins, which allowed Detroit to get Rasheed Wallace. Now they are taking part in a deal that will net the Heat Antoine Walker, James Posey, and Jason Williams, while the Heat will only have to give Rasual Butler, Qyntel Woods, Eddie Jones (and his ridiculous contract), and some no name Spanish Center (Albert Miralles). Hey Danny Ainge, do you realize that you are constantly helping teams within your same conference? I mean its one thing if you do a deal with the Rockets, or the Mavericks, but to help a team which your team will face 3 times next year is ludicrous. In addition, its another thing if the Celtics got a decent big man in return but Albert Miralles? Now the Celtics have 12 shooting guards (ok I am exaggerating), and 3 big men. Nice going Ainge. What's even more ridiculous is the fact that Jerry West is trading a great defensive Swingman in James Posey and a decent player in Jason Williams for Eddie Jones, who has an extremely bloated contract (a good thing is at least it does expire in 2 seasons) and hasn't been good since the Y2k scare. In either case, the Heat has made out like bandits and as long as Pat Riley hires Dr. Phil to keep White Chocolate and 'Toine Walker in check; they should be the best team in the East.

-In another set of idiotic events, the Suns trade Quentin Richardson and his decent contract (alright maybe its a little bit above average, but it wasn't a bad contract) for Kurt Thomas. They do this under the assumption that Joe Johnson wanted to return to Phoenix, and state that they will match any deal for him. At first teams actually pay the Suns attention, and don't try to pursue the up and coming swingman. Then a team gets desperate. Normally the NBA's ignored franchise, the Hawks decided to seize prey and make a move for Johnson. The Suns are shocked. Instead of checking to see if JJ actually wanted to return to Phoenix, they assumed that he was guaranteed to come back. Now who will replace JJ, Raja Bell? In any case, in a very similar situation to the Nets prior off-season with K-mart, the Suns agree to move Joe Johnson to the Hawks. While I agree that JJ isn't worth the max, you move a vital part of your team for...Boris Diaw and most likely two lottery protected first round picks. First of all if I am not going to get lottery picks, you better give me more than Boris Diaw (he can be good, but is still very raw). At least throw in Josh Childress, make the team work for it. For the Hawks, its a nice idea, almost fairy tale-ish to imagine Joe Johnson in a point guard role. Its also a smart business move to get the max from any team you can as well as be the star of that team. However here are two statistics to keep in mind. First of all on a team with 3 all stars, and a very good player in Quentin Richardson, JJ only averaged 3.5 assist per game to go along with almost 2 turnovers (1.8 exactly). How will he fare when he doesn't have Steve Nash protecting him from turnovers, or Amare Stoudamire to throw alley oops to? I can only imagine how many passes Marvin Williams will miss, or how badly Al Harrington will be manhandled in the post...JJ wants to be the star...Ok last time I checked he was the star of the a very bad Suns team a season prior to Nash's arrival. While its understandable why the Suns didn't win a lot of games (they had Leandro Barbosa running point and no Amare Stoudamire), he didn't exactly set the League on fire that season or the Suns would have every attempt to resign him last year. They will move quickly on Amare this year, because they know they can't afford to lose Amare. So the Suns take a huge step back, and the Hawks are collectively hoarding a bunch of 6-8 swingmen. Its a move they needed to make to get relevant again, but they are still a long way from winning games. Poor Mike Woodson...

-Lastly, what are the Sonics doing? They give everyone the assumption that they want to remain a playoff team by getting Ray Allen to agree in principle (notice its signing day, and they haven't even announced his resigning yet...not a good sign), then Nate McMillan walks out (after dealing with the Sonics management for 4 very long years, it was a smart move), and they let 2 players important to their success walk out of the door (Daniels and James). In addition instead of signing some of the many proven coaches out there (example PJ Carlesimo, or Eric Musselman), they promote Bob Weiss, who has a reputation for being soft, as their coach. They also resign their idiotic GM, who hasn't made any moves to make this team any better than last season. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are both sending Hallmark Thank You Cards to Howard Schultz for allowing their teams to have a chance at the playoffs.

While this off-season has been disappointing for the most part, I will give credit where it is due. Kudos to the Spurs, Knicks, Rockets, Bucks, Heat, Sixers, Cavs, and Nets for actually caring about your fans and making moves that will significantly improve your teams. The other teams, get cracking or else fall into insignificance.

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it's definitely been a weird off-season. at least someone likes the Knicks moves...