Back for More Links

Your faithful blogmaster is back with some linkage, but first I'd like to commemorate our 100th posting (which happened last month) with this special behind the scenes insight into the Sandy, Baby blogging process:




Now back to a regular post:



(from BlackSportsOnline (obviously) via Deadspin).

I'm praying that image isn't doctored, I think Chad Johnson can talk a little bit too much but he seems to be far from a Terrell Owens or as bad as Randy Moss can be. The Skins biggest need probably is wide receiver as well, as Santana and Randle El are good but were inconsistent and injury prone this past season. That and a solid young defensive back would be nice (but who doesn't need that?). Why not trade a first rounder for a sure thing? Wish there was some more reporting on this.

This is about the funniest thing you'll read for a while.

"Yes, yes! Cry your tasty tears of overreaction UNC fans!"



UPDATE: Here's an important and breathtaking video somehow taken from Hitler's last days in power. Amazing video quality for such an important piece of history.

(via Kissing Suzy Kolber).

We Just Can't Catch A Break

I'm not going to comment (too) much on the Redskins perfection of the proverbial art of shooting one's self in the foot today. If not for the Patriots game, they'd be undefeated. They've beaten six teams this season. Five were opponents, but they've managed to beat themselves three times so far...and we're only 10 weeks into the season. Today's game was not about coaching; Gibbs, Saunders, and Williams did a great job gameplanning for the Eagles, and thoroughly outcoached Andy Reid from what saw. Buges did a great job on the offensive line, which had been offensive in more ways than one earlier this season (after being decimated by injuries). What the Redskins staff didn't know, however, was that Andy Reid had given access to his "Drug Emporium" to several of the Redskins' players (Chris Cooley, Ladell Betts, Casey Rabach, among others).

Meanwhile, the Wizards are pretty much embodying the above picture. Mike Wise, who despite past shots this blog has taken at him, is actually an excellent basketball writer, gave me a pretty good idea of how the season has gone so far in one column. I just wish he would stick to basketball and hilarious, mindblowing 'incites' into the personal lives of our favorite Redskins players, instead of writing "hard facts" Redskins columns that are written like he just got off the Amtrac train from New York and desperately wanted to fit in with the local sports scene by writing the safest, most obvious columns possible ("Wait, the Redskins have beloved old player doing their radio broadcasts? No way, I didn't know that!"). But hey, I'm trying to give the man his props, as Wilbon has said in the past, he really knows his stuff when he's talking hoops, and he's hit the 'Zards debacle of a season (so far) on the head. I agree (Ed. Despite the win today over a talented Hawks team) that they should shut Arenas down. He's not himself right now, and his knee is clearly hurting him. This is a situation where it's both in the team's interest and the player's to have him shut it down for at least a couple of weeks. If they can't win when he's toughing it out there's no point in not taking a more longterm perspective on the season and letting him rest up and come back at a later date. He won't like it because he's a baller/shotcaller and it's a contract year for him, but it's worth it for both parties in the long run. Arenas' next contract goes down anywhere from $500k to $1 mil everytime people see him hobbling off the court with his knee packaged more securely in ice than a transplant organ, so why not take a few weeks off and start dropping thirty or forty on people when you come back?

Sorry for getting serious for a minute, please accept this entertaining video evidence of how Rugby is much more manly a sport than Soccer, via Deadspin, as my apology. (Lil Bro, I know you have plenty of time to enjoy it....I expect an 800 word response by tomorrow).

Wizards yada yada Spanish dude yada yada

Actually, I'm completely for keeping Navarro. I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw the JCN for Jeff Posey rumor going around. I think all this stuff about Cleveland or Miami being interested in him is kind of funny, since they have virtually nothing to offer in return except a gift certificate to Good Guys (Guys Bucks? Good Times Pence?) and some new cake recipes for Abe. Of course, nothing is going to get done until they figure out the DeShawn situation. It's starting to look like he's pricing himself out of any contract he might want again (I still refuse to call a $3 million dollar a year contract to play basketball "reasonable"), seeing as his name hasn't come up in any free agent talks except when mentioned context with the 'Zards. $3 mil a year would be a good deal for Ernie, and probably give them enough space to get JCN. It would probably help if they got rid of Brenda and Basketball's Poet Laureate. They're most likely stuck with what they've got at center in O-PEC and 32 Cent as is, and frankly, I prefer seeing what those two can do as opposed to overpaying the for next Jerome James. I think trading Haywood for a couple of dirt cheap, bust or boom players (like I've suggested before) packaged with an expiring contract, or a guy who might retire (like a Darius Miles, though that's a crapshoot). It's the best they're going to get for him, seeing as him and Predator Lite's sparring sessions have forced E-Grun's hand.

Seeing as JCN is a combo guard, they could also get rid of AD to a team that figures to make the playoffs, since he is pretty money there (his stats for this past season's brief first round appearance are pretty awesome, even though they didn't really have another legit point guard with Agent 0 out.) Seems like JCN might be a cheaper replacement, and he is supposed to a be a good clutch player as well. Not saying it would be ideal to get rid of Daniels, especially since that whole bench is already quite possibly the weakest in Association, but it would clear up more of that ever valuable cap space. They'd be building for the future for that, since they'll have to do some major re-signings and next year looks like it could be the biggest free agent crop ever, though that phrase gets thrown around a lot. One guy they could think about, not to look ahead way too far or anything like that, is Elton Brand, who might not get re-signed by Los Clippos now that it looks like Donald Sterling has stopped his loose and wild owning and gone back to being a cheap, bitter old bastard again. It'd be as close as the team could come to re-doing the 2001 draft and Jordan trading the #1 pick for Elton Brand, like they should have done in one of the weakest drafts ever.

Let's Make A Deal II

If the whole thing described below doesn't work out, the Wiz could always move Haywood to Houston for Bob Sura's contract ($3.84 million, one year left), John Lucas III ($700,000, two years left), and Steve Nowak ($600,000 and two years). Neither Nowak nor Lucas has good numbers, but neither got much PT either. Sura is a good roleplayer but could possibly retire (he's 34 and missed all of last season with injuries) and give them cap room, Lucas is a poor man's Mike Conley, a good distributor but not a good shooter (they have similar builds as well), and Nowak was right up there with J.J. Reddick as a 3-point shooter in college (both came in and left at the same time). This gives DC more cap room next season if not this season, a dirt cheap by NBA standards backup point guard to develop (and who has good pedigree and is a DC native, coincidentally) and an outside shooter to bring off the bench to stretch the floor who is even cheaper. You'd also be getting them on their rookie contracts, meaning you could extend them an extra year for the same amount (I'm pretty sure). Haywood becomes a reasonably priced backup for Yao to complement/replace Mutumbo for Houston.

Sounds like a decent haul for both sides. It's basically a salary dump for Washington while also picking up a couple of prospects (baseball style trade) while Houston gets another veteran who can help their bench as they have a closing window to make a run past the first round of the playoffs with T-Mac.

Let's Make A Deal

I've been playing around with the ESPN's NBA trade machine, which holds up to RealGM surprisingly well, despite being hosted by the "Worldwide" Leader (the only way ESPN is the Worldwide Leader is if you define the world as New York and Connecticut...I've never seen or heard them break anything in DC sports news) and I started getting creative. Phoenix is currently the preference of Garnett, they need to clear cap room, without getting rid of Stoudemire. The best way to get his done, therefore, is to get another team or two involved.

Here's what I was going for; a realistic trade that works for every team involved, and in since this is a DC blog, involves the Wizards. Here's the general idea of what I came up with.

A four way trade with the biggest pieces being Garnett, Shawn Marion (who's on the block as well to give Phoenix more cap flexibility), Antawn Jamison (not officially on the way out but the most expendable member of the Big Three because his defense is horrible, he's older, and he's a free agent after this season. He also has the largest contract on the team.), and Zach Randolph (also on the block). Here it is:

Phoenix gets Kevin Garnett, Antonio Daniels, and Portland's number 42 pick.

Minnesota gets Zach Randolph, Boris Diaw (whose salary goes up if he's traded as part of his contract), Darius Miles, Brendan Haywood, and two of Portland's second rounders, numbers 37 and 53, and Phoenix's pick at 24.

Portland gets Antawn Jamison, Washington's first-rounder at 16, both of Phoenix's first-rounder at 29, Marcus Banks, and Rashad McCants.

Washington get Shawn Marion, Kurt Thomas, and Jarrett Jack, and Troy Hudson.

Each team gains a bit deal from subtracting: Washington gets rid of Brenda, Portland gets rid of Randolph and Darius Miles, two malcontents/large contracts, Minnesota parts with Garnett begrudingly but at least get something for him, and Phoenix gets rid of Thomas' contract (should he exercise his option) , Marion and Banks.

Washington loses Daniels and Jamison, Jamison being a ket starter and Daniels the sixth man who is money in the playoffs, but really probably upgrades over Jamison with Marion, who isn't quite as prolific scoring wise but has a similar offensive game, is a better rebounder, and a much better defender. Washington also gets rid of Haywood, who not only sucks but also wants out, and Daniels' contract is a bit excessive. They also get Kurt Thomas' rebounding and interior defense (as well as a big contract that comes off the books in a year) and Jack as a younger, less expensive alternative to Daniels. and swallow Hudson's contract and get ride of a mid-first-rounder in order to improve as much as they do.

Phoenix gets their guy and clears a LOT of cap room as they want to, while also getting another great bench player without losing Nash, Stoudemire, Barbosa, or Bell. They lose some rebounding but add a superstar starter while maintaining most of their rotation and adding another solid guard. Let's look at Daniels splits as a starter against Clevland in this past first round:
13.3/11.8/4.5 He averaged a double-double as starting point guard and is a decent defender. It should be noted that he's played similarly in the playoffs the past few years as well. They also get a second rounder to burn on a Euro guy who won't be over for a year or two.

Minnesota gets as much as it can possibly hope for Garnett, getting a younger post player who actually puts out comparable production to Garnett, as well as a cheap veteran center who's a pretty good backup (even if he is a dick), a young still fairly cheap post/wing player in Diaw, and three more later picks in one of the deepest drafts ever. They have to swallow Miles' contract, who could still bring something to the court, but is more valuable in conjunction with Ricky Davis coming up with some kind of bizarre celebration for when they do actually make a play, or at least bringing back the atnennae/pound your head act that Quentin Richardson and him had going on in LA. Since they should blow up the entire team, they are helped on their way by dealing Garnett, who's out of their in a year if they don't, and getting rid of Hudson, who's making a lot of noise about getting out as well and is about two or three years past a prime that never really happened, and gets paid an obscene amount for what he doesn't do. The also get three later picks at 24, 37, and 53 in a deep draft.

Portland goes from cellar to playoff team gaining Jamison, losing the moneypit named Darius Miles while also changing the future Terminator-style by getting rid of him and keeping him away from Oden. The addition of Jamison to go along with Oden instantly gives them two more faces to the team along with Brandon Roy. Also, Jamison gives them flexibility since his big contract goes off the books after this season, and they could package him with the two first-rounders they pick up in order to get Mike Conley Jr. as their future point guard/Oden's best buddy. They pick up Banks as a backup guard/dealmaker for doing business.

DC moves up to the cream of the conference (they might have beaten Cleveland anyways barring the poorly timed injuries to Arenas and Butler..they certainly would've taken to six or seven), Phoenix does as well as it matches up better against Nowitzki, Duncan, Durant and Oden. Portland gets the ammo it needs to move up and get Conley if it should choose to do so, and Minnesota gets its long-needed rebuilding effort going while still getting something good in return for Garnett, and this is about the best they can do, picking up another young post with similar numbers, a cheaper veteran center who could allow them to move Mark Blount for cap space or younger players. They actually make gains in PPG and RPG by 6 and five, though it doesn't work like that exactly. They also pick up a couple of later picks.

The entire thing checks out cap wise though Kurt Thomas can throw a wrench in it by opting out of his contract. That doesn't seem to be a logical move for him though, as he'll make more money sticking with this contract as he's older and overpaid.

The whole thing makes too much sense to actually happen.

Arenas, so long?

Here's my monkey wrench to all ths hopeful Wiz draft talk. With the announcement this weekend that Arenas WILL opt out of his contract next year (and represent himself to boot) will we really see him stay with the Wizards for $10 million per year, which would help the team? Minor Thread hopes so, calling that "an act of selflessness unprecedented in the NBA." Agreed. But it ain't happening.
Now, I luv Mr. Zero to Hero, but Gilbert is dreaming of lots of zeros on his paycheck. According to the Post: "While he has repeatedly expressed a desire to see the Wizards put together a championship contending team, Arenas made it clear on Saturday that his decision to opt out is based primarily on business concerns."
The article goes on to say his knee injury and the birth of his second son, has changed the view of his financial future. Meaning, Daddy Gilbert wants his kids in Armani diapers.
If Arenas leaves, do we kiss our Wizards hopes good-bye?