Gilbert Arenas suspended indefinitely without pay after calling saying he feared law enforcement less than David Stern, because Stern was "mean." Well that one backfired.
I think it may also have had something to do with the finger guns at yesterday's game. So does this eventually pave the way for the Wizards to be able to void his contract, clear that cap space and make a run at some FAs after this season?
It will be more difficult than logic may lead you to believe. Latrell Sprewell initially had his contract voided after he choked and assaulted his coach, but upon taking it to arbitration that was overturned. I think Arenas may have actually had to shoot his teammate to get his contract voided.
But what does the CBA/Player's Union say in this case? What's to stop Stern banning him for "a year, then reinstated after a length of time pending behavioral considerations," or something along those lines. Obviously, Stern considers Arenas' actions to be detrimental to the league's image. Yeah, the Wizard's may be able to void his contract, MAYBE, but that is beside the point -- the Wizards are more than one player away from being a serious playoff team anyway. Anyone know how much power Stern really has here? And is the Player's Union going to take Gilbert's side? What if they do? What if they don't? What is at stake for Agent Zero if -- never mind his legal troubles -- Stern and the Player's Union disagree with his actions?
Lebron is clearly the most talented basketball player to ever walk this earth, but it seems to me at least, that he is going to be/is being held back because of his lack of a real 'killer instinct' that's so clearly prevalent in players like Jordan and Kobe. What's everyone else's opinion on him? Will he ever be as wildly successful as the MJ's and Kobe's of the world?
Something I've talked about exhaustively lately for some reason. First things first, I wouldn't hold Kobe in the same breath as MJ. He's MJ lite. MJ in place of Kobe would have beat Lebron and the Mo Williams-less Cavs last night, there's no doubt in my mind about that. He's the best ever, and has his own realm. As per Lebron vs. Kobe? LBJ already AVERAGES better statistics than the Black Mamba's best year, that says a lot right there. The rings will come for him as the supporting cast improves. The "4 rings vs. 0" doesn't hold any water considering Kobe played with the most-dominant-center-ever version of shaq, while Lebron has aging-dino Shaq. I'll continue later if there's anyone who feels like having a good debate on it, but LBJ is your top dog.
I don't think it makes total sense to compare LBJ and Kobe, though I'm sure many people disagree. They have a completely different play style, at least in recent years. MJ and Lebron are much more similar, stylistically. Its hard to say this as a Lakers fan, but I think MJ pretty much had the best qualities of both Kobe and Lebron. That being said, I'd still trust Kobe over Lebron to close a game if given a choice.
How do you figure?? Of the two, Kobe's game is much more reminiscent of Jordan's, what with the post-up game added to his repetoire. Please elaborate.
Jesus fucking christ, what happened in the Knicks Mavs game? Anyone happen to watch the game? I only saw the score. I know the Knicks are pretty shitty, but losing by 50?
Really? This is when I would MOST want Lebron. 82games.com does clutch play stats (last 5 minutes of close games), and also has in depth playoff stats; and over the past 4-5 years Lebron is almost always at the head of the class. Kobe comes in anywhere from 1st to 6th, but Lebron rarely dips to 2nd in clutch regular season play, playoff production, or the cream of the crop -- playoff clutch play. They even had a chance to go head to head the other night in that exact situation, and LBJ killed it. That team could sorely use another big body ala Troy Murphy, but even if they don't get it I see them as your 2010 ring holders. As arrogant and annoying as I find the dude on a nightly basis, The King's just too dominant for anyone to touch at this point.
Arenas and Crittenton suspended for the remainder of the season. It also says in there that "legal experts" believe the Wizards can only void Arenas' contract if he gets sentenced to jail. Anyone actually think this dude is going to spend any time behind bars?
I am an extremely casual NBA fan. But I am curious what anyone around here thinks of the Timberwolves and their shot at ever being good again. It seems like they have a ton of talent. What's their problem?
This may sound crazy, but hear me out: I think the dunk contest presents a legitimate argument to raise the hoops to 11 feet. Players are at the point where they can all basically do the same shit. They're all athletic enough to dunk, with enough hopps left that they can do between the legs/catch it in the air/spin/take off from a long distance. Nate Robinson dunks what, five times a season? But he's athletic, he can do the basics, and he understands that theatrics are pretty much all there is left. So raise the rim an extra foot, thin the herd enough so that only the extremely athletic players can compete. Make us marvel again at how someone can go that high. Make players have to work on putting the ball through the hoop, and not just on the theatrics and superman capes. The counter-argument to that is that there's only so much you can do with a ball, one player, a hoop, a backboard, and a hardwood court, and that raising it an extra foot would only add the element of extra height to the contest. But hell, right now it's fucking broke as shit, and everyone knows it. So it's time to fix it (that, the NASCAR playoffs, and the NCAA football playoffs...er, bowl games).
I miss the dunk contest. I remember being a little kid and not going anywhere on All-Star Saturday Night, especially with the dunk contest being the main event. The problem, much as Simmons has said, is that the contest lacks star power. No offense to these guys, but Gerald Wallace? Shannon Brown? Rudy Fernandez? Why not have some big time sponsor come in -- Sprite? -- and have them up the ante to say, 1 million dollars*, and the winner takes it all? Find a way to bring out the LeBron's, etc and get rid of the gimmicks (remember that fucking spinning wheel??) and just have a straight dunk off. Shit, why not have a "manager" for these guys -- bring back Kenny Walker to "manage" Nate Robinson, Dominique to "manage" Josh Smith, etc. Embrace the old winners, find somehow, someway to get the big names back out there. I want my kids to one day wait in anticipation for All-Star Saturday night just like I used to... *I know Simmons has said this, and I think its a great idea.
Free loaded handgun to the winner..... oh wait.... How about the NBA teams up with the judicial system (they see a lot of each other anyway) and offer a grand prize of either "no child support for a year" or "one free DWI"?
In regards to the dunk contest: Remember during last year's dunk contest between Nate and Dwight Howard that Lebron says, "Next year, I'm in there! Write me in!" Yeah, what happened there? If there's going to be a dunk contest, I want them to stop the stupid rules, the stupid slam-in, the stupid internet voting. Go back to the way they did it in the 80s during the Jordan-Nique years. Let the guys just go at it. And no "no-name" guys. Get Lebron in there. Get Dwyane Wade in there. Get Dwight Howard in there. Get Vince Carter back in (he told Dwight Howard that now he was on the Magic, Dwight was the second best dunker on the team... Back that smack up, VC). Get Josh Smith from the Hawks in. Yes, Nate Robinson can jump really, really high, but every time I see him, I think about the time it took him 14 attempts to get a dunk down. I don't want to see Nate again. I understand that the NBA is trying to make the league "accessible" to fans via voting and the internet, but it's gone too far. Give the guys two or three minutes each to throw down every dunk they can think of, and do a combined score or something. I don't want to see four guys try two dunks each then watch the top two do two dunks each. If you're going to have a dunk contest, do it like one of those cityslam or And1 contests: Let the guys go nuts.
My week just got significantly better. Tony Parker is out at least 6 weeks with a broken hand (not counting how long it'll take him to get back into "playing form"). Now the Spurs will miss the playoffs, get into the lottery, and *hopefully* start the rebuilding process sooner rather than later. This team might be able to squeak out a few more playoffs, but as far as going deep goes, they're toast. I'm in favor of shipping out both Manu and Parker (see: national team rants in other threads) and getting younger, athletic, and going the OKC route. Build around Hill and Blair, get some first round picks (and actually use them on players you plan to use NOW) and see you in five years.