Grant Hill has agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns (for a lot less money than he could have made elsewhere, according to his agent). I like him as a locker room influence spreading the message: "Yes, Amare, you really are lucky to play with Steve Nash even though you don't get a lot of opportunities to create with the ball."
ESPN's John Hollinger (Insider) on Derek Fisher: "Losing him will likely hurt the Jazz this season, as they scramble to find a capable backcourt replacement while armed only with their midlevel exception. But long-term, Fisher did them a big favor. Despite the heartwarming playoff performance against Golden State, Fisher did not have a good year, and he doesn't figure to improve as he gets deeper into his 30s. With his deal off the books, the Jazz will be able to extend Deron Williams next summer without going over the luxury tax a year later, and in the meantime they'll have a lot more flexibility to use their exception money the next two summers."
The Salt Lake Tribune's Ross Siler says (and an important update) Derek Fisher's departure could be a little bit about playing time and money, too: "I'm startled to see Fisher's agent talking big contract less than a day after Fisher was released from the last three years of his deal with Utah. It seemed questionable at best after the sincere and emotional way in which Fisher left. There's no doubt that 99 percent of Fisher's decision to be released was due to his daughter's condition. But the other 1 percent is also worth considering."
Michael McCann of the Sports Law Blog -- who has worked with at least one of Iverson's attorneys, Alan Milstein -- applauds Iverson's legal team for taking the $20 million case to trial. Even if the case was without merit, it must have been tempting to quietly write a check for some fraction of the total to make the whole case go away. But they have made their case and put the decision in the hands of the legal system. I have yet to see anyone give any meaningful analysis of the quality of the plaintiff's claims in the case, but from what we have been able to read in the media, it's very tempting to see the claims as frivolous.
Freddy Jones was a throw-in to that Zach Randolph deal. Not a big deal, in and of itself, but as TrueHoop reader Ben reminds me, a few months ago when he was traded to Portland, Jones gave up practically a third of his guaranteed contract for the pleasure of playing in his hometown. Now he's something of an NBA vagabond, in need of a home, and no doubt missing that $3.5 million he was once guaranteed for the 2008-2009 season.
Justin Kubatko, proud champion of the 2007 TrueHoop Stat Geek Smackdown, talks about his statistical techniques with Jason Gurney of BallHype: "An active player who I think is underrated is Chris Paul. That may seem like a strange choice given that Paul has received a fair amount of attention in his first two years, but I don't think people appreciate just how good he has been. On the other hand, I think the general public has overrated Carmelo Anthony. Anthony's a good player, don't get me wrong, but he tends to get lumped in with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James because they were all drafted the same year, but he's just not in that class. I actually prefer another player in that draft class, Chris Bosh, to Anthony."
Video evidence of the best and worst dancers in the NBA. A rare opportunity for Johan Petro to enjoy unabashed praise for his performance on the court.
Steve Francis is at the top of the list of NBA players whose careers have been ruined by massive contracts. Without that fat contract, he would have spent the last several years playing for front offices and coaches that were actually happy to have him around, and hoped to see him succeed on the court. In that context, we'd all think of him as a decent player. He'd be in highlights. He'd be talked of fondly. He'd be part of some big wins now and again. Instead he has been sulky and a burden to all involved. Now that he's likely about to get the best of all worlds -- the money, and the freedom to go where he's wanted. Hope he seizes the opportunity.
Armchair GM is running, essentially, a popularity contest among various ESPN personalities -- a category that now even includes a certain blogger. You can even put in your two cents.
Mark Cuban makes some rash generalizations (mostly, and this hurts me personally, accusing all of the media of having the same shoddy standards as the worst of media) in a longer blog post about how terrible rash generalizations are. The point he's missing: there are solid and shoddy people in every profession, including blogging and mainstream media. As much as he'd love to know that reporters or bloggers are good and bad, the truth is you simply have to take the time to figure out who's doing it the right way, and trust those people.
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
