Tobacco Tokers

I remember talking about how Vlade Divac used to smoke cigs when he played in the NBA. I got to wondering if any other NBA ballers, past or present, were also consumers of the health taxing plant. Though I am quite sure there were players back in the day who smoked, I couldn't find any evidence. In today's league, only one such player admitted to doing so, and he looks like this:

That's right, Adam Morrison (who apparently also dips). Now, to be honest, I read a rumor saying the Vladimir Radmanovich (the player the Bobcats traded Morrison to the Lakers for -- coincidence???) also smokes, but I couldn't find anything about that. So for the sake of legitimacy, let's pose today's question, how does tobacco affect an athlete?

There have been quite a few successful athlete smokers in other professional sports: Hank Aaron and Joe DiMaggio in the MLB, Don Meredith in the NFL (and I read stories that John Elway also did), obviously Vlade in the NBA, Bobby Hull in the NHL, and Graham Watson in cycling.

How can these people whose jobs require intensive cardiovascular performance (well maybe not baseball...) still perform while hindered by cigs? I think it is because they train hard and have good genes. Unfortunately for Adam Morrison, he doesn't train hard enough and his genes are of the tall, lanky variety, not really the super athletic variety. His career has not taken off despite being the #3 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft. When he has played, he hasn't been so bad he shouldn't get a shot at being in the league, but that is about all he should have got, a shot. It should have been this one and that should have been the last shot he ever took.

Rodman vs. Artest

The NBA is filled with some interesting characters who come from all sorts of backgrounds. Both on and off the court, there have been some interesting situations occur because of the erratic behavior of these athletes. In today's league, the biggest crazy has to be Ron Artest. Don't get me wrong, Starbury is up there, but not in the same way. The point guard is more disillusioned than just crazy (via his Ustream on July 21, "I'm telling you what it is: I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA. I don't need anybody else to tell me that.")

This past season, many will be quick to point out that Artest was on his best behavior. While this is mostly true, that is in part due to the professionalism of the Houston franchise--Artest's actions were never blown up by the media. The most compelling sign that even when he is most serious about helping his team and laying low from the limelight, he is still the animal he has always been. The biggest game of the year for the Rockets and for Ron Artest, game 7 vs. the Lakers, where is the crazy? Let's look at what could be riding on this game... If somehow the Rockets can pull out the win, they go down in history with one of the biggest playoff upsets of all time and Ron Artest gets the media's love for fighting with this injury ravaged team that couldn't even get to the 2nd round with a healthy T-Mac and Yao Ming. Ron Artest then goes into the offseason with that under his belt and his supposedly best behavior since his rookie year. No doubt he gets the fat contract he always wanted. Answer to the question: no one knows because he just missed the team bus! How did he get to the game then? He jumped on the last Rocket's bus leaving from the hotel which was full of the team's executives and sponsors, and worst their and the players families. As if that isn't bad enough, he jumped on the bus (literally ran and jumped on as it started to leave) in his underwear! Incredible. You can read the full story on ESPN in this article by Bill Simmons, http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090727.

Since Artest takes the cake these days (if you need more than the above story, here are a couple recent quotes of his: 1. "'Five Dollar Foot-long' is one of the best songs. That's a hot song. You've got the FreeCreditReport.com, and then 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on. When 'Five Dollar Foot-long' comes on, they should play that in the club. They should play all those in the club." 2. "It feels like high school again. I had a really good team, and I was a much better leader. When I got in college and the NBA, I became selfish. Now, I'm back to my high school days." and 3. Via his Twitter account, 96TruwarierQB, "You want to see me rock in China? http://bit.ly/nG1lI 7 city's I'm on tour right now! The hood just invaded China http://twitpic.com/aebei"), we are left to wonder, how can the NBA continually allow this kind of behavior from him? If you think it is because the public and media love this stuff, you are sorely mistaken. David Stern knows he can sell the NBA much more effectively by creating a healthy league than one filled with atrocious, unrelatable characters (see years 1980-1999 vs. 1999-2007, specifically Dec. 14, 2004). The thing is, Artest isn't the first crazy player in the NBA and he will definitely not be the last (though his record suspension may last the annals).

Before Ron Ron was around, there was Dennis Rodman. NBA fans today know Artest as the typical "bad boy" of the league, but Rodman did it first and more intense. Dennis the Mennace was a beast of a defensive player like Artest, though not jacked in the same way, he used physicality to get into opponents heads and throw off their games. If you ever need to see how good he was at that, vist youtube for his defense on Karl Malone in the '97 & '98 Finals (then go youtube his WCW fight with Malone).

More importantly, though, the Worm loved being a total freaking weirdo. He died his hair all sorts of random colors, wore a wedding dress on the cover of his autobiography, wrestled professionally, co-starred in horrible action movie with Van Damme and drunkenly married Carmen Electra. While he wasn't the most normal of players while on the pistons, all of the charades listed above came after the 1992-93 season when Rodman was found alone in his car with a loaded rifle. He admitted in his biography that he was thinking about suicide, but decided instead to just let himself be who he was and not who he thought he should be. Turned out that was a pretty strange guy.

Artest may have the title now, but he still has ways to go to claim the spot as craziest NBA player ever.

Cap Space

It's the big thing in the NBA these days with all the big free agents coming up next off-season. So here's the topic of today's post:
With all the teams saving up Will any of it make a difference? Will a team like New York be able to bring in a top draw player that turns their franchise around? Will the Bulls or Blazers be able to bring in the player that complements their young core and puts them into title contention? Will any of the highly sought after free agents switch teams at all?

Despite a great demand for many grade A players, there is increasing doubt around the league that something big will happen for many teams. Due to the economy not being prime, a decreasing salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement rework coming up, teams are looking at less money to spend on player contracts here the next few seasons. Ticket sales were down last season and project to be down again this upcoming season. Owners therefore have incentives to reduce payroll for the near future besides just gaining expiring contracts in order to sign on someone for a max contract in 2010.

Which max contract deserving players will most likely to be wooed away?

LeBron James - Unfortunately, it is looking more and more unlikely. I say unfortunately because of LeBron's antics recently demonstrate just how big-headed he is becoming and therefore how only the Big Apple would be able to keep him in check. MVP or not, NY fans will let him know if he has a bad game (rare as it may be) or if he misses a game winner. It will push him to be the best (not really a problem for him) and may give him more limelight (unlikely). What could the Knicks offer that Cleveland can't? Less money made up through more endorsements... surrrreeee. A more complete roster... HA!!! An owner willing to pay the luxury tax in order to keep him happy and win an NBA championship... Check (though Cleveland has that, too). Counting these tallies, that gives Cleveland a large advantage.

Dwyane Wade - Miami is desperately trying to put together a team that can win now, just to get Wade to sign an extension this summer. Seems like he is badly wanted down there, and for good reason--he won them a championship. The heat have a promising core with Beasley and Chalmers (I guess Cook, too, though he is a whore for the 3pt shot). They may end up trading some of it for better post players (better meaning in their prime) like Boozer and Odom. I don't know if that is the best option as I still think Beasley is a stud small forward waiting to happen, but Wade is getting up there in age, especially considering his attack the basket style of play (though he should be able to extend that career with his midrange jumper and improving 3pt shot). If Miami can put together something this summer that puts the Heat in position to get to the 2nd round, Wade may feel he is up to the challenge of taking on the other superstars of the East. My guess is that Wade sticks around in Miami, seeing how it is an awesome place to live. Nothing basketball related, but it usually isn't in contract decisions.

Chris Bosh - Bryan Colangelo has done a wonderful job this summer transforming the Toronto Raptors from a team that finished 2nd to last in the East, to a team that will... make the playoffs? Probably, but who knows with the East getting deeper this year. The teams that made the playoffs last year have gotten better and the Wizards should be able to contend again. ORL, BOS, CLE, ATL are all better. If the Heat can pick up a real post player, they should be right there at 5th again. The sixers lost their pace now that Miller is signed on with the Blazers, but improvements to WAS and DET should push them out anyway. That leaves one spot left in the East, which last year went to the Bulls. I assume TOR will be good enough with a healthier Calderon and re-energized Bosh, combined with far more bench depth, to take the final spot (not saying it will be the 8th seed, just think the other teams will get in somewhere), but what about the Bulls? Did they not go 20-14 after the Salmons/Miller trade? Did they (minus Deng) not push the Celtics (minus Garnett and Powe) to seven games? Will D-Rose not improve? Oh yeah, they lost Ben Gordon, their leading scorer the last 4 seasons... Point is, Raptors make the playoffs, but are nowhere near good enough to make it to the 2nd round. This pisses Chris Bosh off as he knows there is no way to make it further with his ensemble of Euros and goes off and signs with the Bulls for many, many championships... Ok, so only in my dreams. Most likely story is that Bosh stays in his comfy home in Canada with his loyal fans and his interesting international city.

Amar'e Stoudemire - Amar'e is pissed off right now because he doesn't know where the Suns are going. News Flash! Neither do the Suns! They are caught in that awful state in NBA history where the team is too talented to rebuild but really needs to. It is bad for the team, bad for the players and bad for the fans. Steve Nash is old. He can guard no point guard in the league. He can still run a marathon and will push the ball every chance he gets. He can still make that incredible one-handed bounce-pass, in traffic. He can still shoot very, very well. Is that enough to convince Amar'e to stay after this upcoming season? Probably not. The Suns have no real young talent. Barbosa is going to turn 27 in a few months. Grant Hill is ancient, though still pretty efficient and still a smart player. Point is that the West is too talented for PHO to compete these days without getting someone good (I think Kirlenko would be a great fit in PHO, though he comes at a high price and I don't know how the Suns would be able to swing that trade).
How will the Suns be able to convince Stoudemire to stay? Is being able to offer him the most money enough? Probably not, though once again most contracts are not decided for basketball reasons. Of all these big names, Amar'e is the most likely to leave his teams. PHO undoubtedly knows this and has been listening to trade proposals for 6 months already. I hope for their sake they turn that kind of trade into a great rebuilding project if they do, but with Nash still there for the 3 more years, I don't know how that is going to go over. The Suns put themselves in a tough spot after the Marion for Shaq trade. They committed to win at all costs and fell flat. After parlaying that trade for Ben Wallace and Pavlovic (bought out contracts), it seems the Suns are committing to rebuilding mode. Then they extend Nash and resign Hill. No direction. No trade assets. Sorry Suns fans, there is nowhere to go. Means you might as well trade Amar'e and start the always inevitable, always undesirable process.

Joe Johnson - I think Joe loves being the face of the Hawks franchise. He has a great young core around him and the Hawks are showing lately that they are committed to being a team that reaches the playoffs. That combination is enough to keep the former Razorback in town.

Ray Allen - No longer the athletic sharp-shooter, but still quite accurate. He won't get a contract anywhere near his current one, but he will still be a valuable piece to a title contender. I think he stays in Boston to end his career and I think they are glad to have him, as long as he doesn't want too much money.

Manu Ginobli - If the Spurs can pull out one last ring this year, and with a healthy lineup this year they should have an excellent shot, Manu might as well retire. His body is giving out on him, though when he plays he still shows the same awesome production and style that made him a Spurs staple. This is another case of why would Many leave rather than why not.

Carlos Boozer - Boozer is seemingly on his way out of town as stands now, so chances are very likely he will not be on the Jazz for the 2010 season. My question is, at that point will he be on his third team in two years? Depends on who trades for him, his health this coming season and whether or not Miami is still interested in him in 2010. I think Boozer to the heat is a big upgrade over Haslem, though not worth Beasley. If the deal can go down without losing B-Easy, I think D-Wade signs that extension and Boozer signs one, too. I don't think this catapults the Heat past anyone in the East, though Wade is a monster, so come playoff time, who knows.

2009 NBA Draft

What better a place to start than where half the league does each offseason? That's right, the 2009 NBA Draft!

This draft was an especially hard one to predict because of the overwhelming amount of mediocre talent. From top-to-bottom, there were only marginal differences in potential and among players in NBA readiness compared to other recent drafts. Sure, Blake Griffin was by far the surest bet, but what I'm really getting at here is that there were a lot of players in this draft who are decent, but not very many with the ability to truly stand out. The best player at every position in this draft will not be a top 5 player at any position in the NBA in the next 5 years. That is why so many NBA GMs were calling this a weak draft.

The thing that stands out to me about this draft class is that there are a lot of players who could be average NBA players, which is actually quite rare for a draft. Take the last 5 draft classes, how many players do you see contributing? About half, at best. I truly think about half the players in this draft have that ability, about many will get the opportunity to show it, first rounder or not. The NBA is going to need to go the way of cheap young players whose contract does not overshadow their production, which is where these rookies will be able to come in. The NBA minimum is not a bad offer to a 2nd round pick, and many of the 2nd rounders this year are worth it... i.e. Donte Cunningham, Dejaun Summers, Jeff Pendegraph, Sam Young, Dejuan Blair has already signed for more than that, so has Jodie Meeks, Derrick Brown should find a spot somewhere, Chase Budinger will sure get picked up by the Rockets, as will Marcus Thornton by the Hornets and Danny Green by the Cavs... and there are those players who will get a 10-day contract at least once this upcoming season, like Dozier, Nivins, AJ Price and Goran Suton.

So now that I've made my point about the depth of mediocrity in this Draft, let's get to the business of pointing out the odd picks that went down this year.

Picks:

4. Tyreke Evans

Thing is, I like this pick. Tyreke really knows how to get in scoring position and can instantly create offense, something Sacremento really, really lacks. I don't know if he will be the point guard of the future for them, but I do think he fits in well into their core and will help get some easy buckets.

The weirdness of this pick is obviously that Ricky Rubio was still on the board. The Kings had been trying to move up for weeks before the draft in hopes of securing Rubio, but by the time the draft actually comes around, they are sick of him because of his contractual issues ($6.6 MILLION BUYOUT!!!)

I see why the would hesitate on picking him up, but let's be honest. This is the worst team in the league and they can afford to wait two years to get Rubio if they can't work out a buyout. Rubio already is an international stud with Star-power written all over him. That is enough for the Kings to risk picking him in itself, and I can't really see why the didn't. Petrie has a history of questionable picks (see '08 pick Thompson, '07 Hawes, '06 Douby), but we'll see in a couple of years whether this one works out for him.

6. Johnny Flynn

I think Flynn is a superb athlete and a true point guard. But the TimberLOLves had just picked up Rubio. When it happened, everyone in the draft green room paused for a collective, WTF? moment. I can see building up trade assetts and getting some insurance in case Rubio has to stay in Spain, but they had three other first round picks to do that. They missed up a chance to shore up their off-guard spot with Derozan or Curry, either should have fit in well with Rubio, especially a couple years down the road. I feel like David Kahn is a smart man and will continue to change his roster as the season goes, so here's hoping he pulls something crafty out of drafting PGs back to back.

7. Stephen Curry

The Dubs already have a starting combo guard in Ellis and actually 90% of their lineup is pretty much an off-guard anyways. I guess this pick allows Nellie to put a lineup of just shooters on the court that don't play defense. Either way, the Warriors have talented pieces and should be able to swing some pieces in the near future to put together a competitive lineup, just as soon as Nellie retires...

13. Tyler Hansborough

LOL. Larry Bird loves white boys. Expected Blair to go here, but glad he slipped (Bulls bias).

15. Austin Daye

Detroit must think Tayshaun is more valuable to them than he really is, because Daye looks like a spitting image (his game isn't). Daye can shoot, and rebound if his effort and confidence is there, but was the definition of inconsistency in college. Might have been a reach here, but the potential is there, so can't blame the Pistons too much. I guessed they would have taken BJ Mullens, but the project there is even bigger.

16. James Johnson

Not too strange of a pick, in that Johnson is meaty and should be able to play the power foward... too bad he is convinced he is a small forward. I think the Bulls could have really used Blair and would have been a great value here. Once again, though, can't blame the Bulls too much because Johnson does have more potential and the Bulls are one of the NBA's youngest teams.

18. Ty Lawson

This made more sense once it was announced that the Wolves traded the pick to Denver, but at the time, WTF!?!??!? Kahn why do you love PGs sooo much?!??!?

22. Victor Klaver

The player that most predicted Portland to take with 33rd pick. I guess they really, really liked him or felt some other team did enough that he wouldn't be around then. Either way, it is a guaranteed contract to a player unlikely to play this year, and that is usually not wise. On the other hand, if the there is anyone who can afford it is Paul Allen (owns a $200 million yacht, 'nough said).

26. Taj Gibson

A player not projected to go in the first round in any mock draft I read (RealGM, NBAdraft, DraftXpress, ESPN, some others I can't think of right now...). Also, the bulls picked a PF with their early pick, unless they too think Johnson is really a SF. Once again, I think Blair would have been the perfect pick for the Bulls here, seeing who they have in the post that can provide offense... NO ONE!!! And with the 26th pick at that, incredible value for a man-child who dominated in college and is along the mold of Millsap and Maxiell.

27. Demarre Carol

Ok... I guess this was Memphis's last pick and they wouldn't be able to take him later, but I don't think he deserves guaranteed money and there were better players still available. Still, not a completely horrible pick in my mind.

30. Christian Eyenga

I get that the guy is super athletic, but once again, at the cost of guaranteed money? As of today he signed a contract in Spain and will not play in the NBA the next 3 years... great pick Cavs.

37. Dejaun Blair

Just because everyone passed on him. Definitely a first round talent (though probably not lottery level due to injury concerns and height).

38. Jon Brockman

A white version of Blair, only much worse at offense. 6th in NCAA in rebounds last year (11.2 per game) is worth a look, but I don't think most expected him to get drafted, especially not this high. I like Brockman, though, so I can't hate and I'm glad he made it and will now get a chance for minutes on the Kings (traded on draft night by Blazers).

44. Chase Buddinger

Listed at #25 on NBAdraft.net's mock and was considered a lottery pick by many up until the tournament. After seeing his play in the Vegas summer league, he was worthy of a first round pick and I think many of those teams who skipped him in the late 1st will regret it... ehem... Cavs... ehem...

48. Taylor Griffin

No, he will not somehow get better because his brother was the number one pick.

55. Patty Mills

Expected him to go higher, but honestly I think this was a more appropriate place for him. His recent injury will hurt his ability to make it in the NBA since teams will forget he exists as he plays overseas for the next few years, though I guess he still has a possibility of making it.

Undrafted:

Dionte Christmas - Should have been taken over more than half the 2nd round. Guy can really shoot (only 35%, but on 9 attempts per game as the premier player on his team, also 57% of his shots are 3's), back-to-back-to-back A-10 scoring titles, guarded Harden when they played ASU, scored 35 points to help Temple upset #8 ranked Tennessee on 12/13/08 (admitted that Tenn was ranked too highly, still...). I think it is going to be very hard for Christmas to find a spot in the NBA now that every team passed on him. I'm saddened that he is once again being overlooked, but I guess his NBA role is 3pt specialist off the bench and all any GM probably looked at was his overall 3pt percentage.

Josh Heytvelt - Skilled big man on a very good college team. I think he would have been worth a 2nd round pick, though his ability to really play in the NBA is about as good as Aaron Gray's (in case you don't know, Aaron Gray sucks, a lot). Don't take that to mean they play the same game because they don't. Heytvelt is way more athletic, way more of a badass and a good shooter. Just saying that neither can really defend an NBA center or even hold down the paint for even a few minutes a game. Also, props for being a real college student and not just an athlete (http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=8848).

Jeff Adrien - A beast on a great college team. Not saying he is good, but if you have seen him, you know he is strong enough to play in the NBA and has the heart to do so, though certainly not skilled enough yet.

Jerel McNeal - Not really surrised he didn't get picked, but he is a very good shooter and defender off the bench, much in the way of Jennero Pargo, only smarter and better at defense. Also, got to give props to another Chi-town product (Hillcrest, the first team I ever made a 3 pointer against).

Starting Off

To begin, this blog is means to contemplate the many curious happenings in the NBA. For example, how can the city of Seattle bring back a team? Will the Knicks be able to do anything next offseason with their vast cap space to become relevant again? Why did Dejuan Blair slip all the way to Spurs in this year’s draft? How did the Chicago Bulls end up with the number one draft pick in last year’s draft? How has Tim Donaghy’s trial not end up mentioned during the playoffs this year every time there was a questionable call made… ok, that might be a little too tacky, but by now you should be getting the point by now.

I will be updating regulary with new posts concerning current happenings and revisiting long last enigmas. Also, I will try to address as many comments as possible, so bring your ideas!