1. A.I. Bye-Bye
Allen Iverson has obviously played his final game for the 76ers, now the only question that remains is where he goes from here. As the speculations run wild, questions of his selfishness and past clashes with coaches begin to tarnish the shine of the former MVP. Certainly, due to all the logistics involved with contracts and salary caps, various teams would be excluded but, it would foolish for any team on the verge of being a contender to disregard Iverson simply due to his checkered past. Iverson has always expressed his desire to retire as a Sixer, so he must be truly unhappy in Philly to demand a trade. But he doesn’t just want to leave Philadelphia; he wants to go somewhere he can win. And one thing that can’t be questioned is his passion to be the best between the lines. Regardless of his reasons, if Philadelphia management has any respect for the man that played his heart out for them, then they will trade him to a competitive team. And A.I. shouldn’t have a problem with that.
2. Welcome to the D-League
Jay, don’t call me Jason, Williams is playing in the NBA again. Well, kind of; he’s playing in the NBA’s Development League. After New Jersey waived Williams in October, he considered playing in Europe before deciding to play in the NBA’s version of the minor league. The Austin Toros signed Williams who should see action in the team’s next game on Thursday. While Toros might mean Bulls in Spanish, Williams is nowhere near the player he was when he arrived in Chicago. The former Duke star was the second pick in the 2002 draft before he wrapped his motorcycle around a telephone pole and virtually ended his career. While he might not ever play at the elite level again, he has made quite a comeback considering the nerve damage sustained in his accident was so severe that doctors thought his leg was going to have to be amputated.
3. Bailraisers
Zach Randolph apologized to the entire NBA organization and fan base for his ill-advised actions, again. The process is becoming ritual for the 25 year old. His latest incident involved giving an obscene gesture toward fans during a 108-95 loss to Indiana last Friday. Portland decided to beat David Stern to the punch and suspended Randolph for one game, costing him $133,333. Randolph’s actions are rather tame by his standards. In the past he has sucker punched-Ruben Patterson during practice, been cited for possession of marijuana and underage drinking, and he was present during a shooting in which his brother was ultimately sentenced to prison. Oh, but there’s more. He’s been found with guns, accused of sexual assault and allegedly, he attempted to intimidate witnesses involved with the trial of teammate Qyntel Woods. It’s all just part of being the Jailblazers model citizen.
Sunday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis @ Seattle 40 min, 28 pts (FG: 10-19, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 6-7), 9 reb, 13 ast
Monday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (14-6) @ Utah (15-5) Utah has a 10-1 record in Salt Lake City and will look to use the home crowd to their advantage as they attempt to begin a new winning streak after losing four of their last seven. Dallas has also hit a skid in their schedule as they have gone 2-2 after ripping off 12 in a row. Despite their recent struggles, this should be a great game between two of the leagues best young teams.
Buzzer Beater: It looks like Amare Stoudemire is fully back from his injuries of a year ago and now he has his Suns team on a ten game win streak. Sure, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion and others have played important parts but Stoudemire provides Phoenix with an entirely different dimension they’ve been lacking recently. He’s the only Phoenix player to have actual skills in the post, which allows the Suns to transition between playing a “fast break” offense to an “inside-outside” type of offense. Throw in some uncanny athleticism and not only do you have a Phoenix Stud, but you also get a true Western Conference powerhouse team.
6 replies on “Around the Rim: Wanna Trade?”
trade randolph — Randolph is far worse than Rasheed or Bonzi ever was. Rasheed and Bonzi had attitude problems, but an attitude problem PLUS criminal activity is a whole different ballgame.
Trade him while his value is high. A lot of teams will take a hard look at a 20-10 post player even with all of the baggage.
On the plus side, Randolph and Stoudemire are showing that microfracture surgery is not a death sentence.
Plan Your Future — I agree. Portland has a lot of young players with potential, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jarrett Jack and Brandon Roy, and if they could trade Randolph for some leadership then this could be a team on the rise. It would be taking steps back in order to take steps forward because these kids still need time to improve but I think that would be a better situation than continuing to just stagnate at the bottom of the conference.
come on Warriors — Ok.. what could the warriors possibly offer up to the Sixers to get AI. I’ve got my “The City” #3 jersey on pre-order. :)
GS? — GS was one of the first teams to roll through my head as well. Receiving equal value for AI is gonna be close to impossible but the Warriors have some talent they could give up in a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 type deal.
But I really want to see AI and KG team up, now that would be fun to watch.
duke sucks — The Warriors should play to Billy King’s Dookie background and stick him with Mike Dunleavy. That would make me very happy. King definitely has a weakness for Duke players; who else would have signed Shavlik Randolph?
Personally, I would like to see AI team up with KG too or Paul Pierce. Those are 1-2 punches that would work in my opinion. A Baron Davis/AI combo would not.
Shavlik — gave the Sixers some good minutes this year before breaking his ankle. What was he a free agent? It was probably the only thing BK hasnt screwed up on in his tenure. (Cause no one expected anything out of SR.) Too bad Ed Snider is so intensely loyal. It took him about 5 years too long to get rid of Bobby Clarke (and then he brought him right back in) so expect BK to get tossed somewhere around 2010.
3 of the 4 worst GMs in the league are in 3 of the marquee franchises in the NBA: Philly, Boston, NY. Now if someone Kevin McHale could become GM of the Lakers, that would complete the four horsemen.