Pending a physical, Steve McNair will be traded to the Baltimore Ravens.
Permission for the physical was given by the Tennessee Titans, who have a contract with McNair.
If McNair passes the physical, a trade between the Ravens and the Titans will take place.
Results from McNair’s physical are not expected to be completed until tomorrow (Thursday) morning.
McNair’s presence will instantly improve the Ravens’ offense, enhancing the value of Todd Heap, Mark Clayton and, of course, Derrick Mason.
When Shaquille O’Neal asked the Los Angeles Lakers to be traded, one of the teams he targeted was Dallas. Although there are rumors floating around that Dirk Nowitzki was involved in those trade talks, Mark Cuban said things never got that involved.
‘It was something we certainly tried to do. We had a lot of players and draft picks [to offer], and we tried to sell [the Lakers] on the perspective that yeah, maybe you have a down year, but then in a couple of years out, you have cap room. They weren’t buying it, and the response was, `There’s nothing on your roster that we want.’ . . . It was about a two-minute conversation.”
I find it hard to believe that the Lakers would have turned down a trade involving Nowitzki, but I doubt he was ever on the table. Shaq is a great center, but in his stint in Miami he has been far from dominant. It would have been unwise for the Mavericks to part ways with their franchise player just to get a few of O’Neal’s twilight years.
ESPN’s Pat Forde wrote an interesting article about how Dirk Nowitzki is doing something no other international player has ever done – be the star player on a team playing in the Finals. Sure, Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon were born outside the U.S., but they played college ball in the U.S., while Nowitzki bypassed the American system completely.
While youth basketball rotted from the inside out in the States, it blossomed overseas. Unscarred by the American shoe wars, unpolluted by the travel-team circuit, unspoiled by the human barnacles who attach themselves to young stars, the kids in Europe and elsewhere actually learned how to play the game.
While players in the States obsessed from adolescence about getting paid, Europeans just played. Creatively. Fundamentally.
The results first came home to roost in international competition. The U.S. has been serially embarrassed, and not just in the Athens Olympics. The list includes a sixth-place finish in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, where a fellow named Nowitzki was the MVP.
Rick Pitino, who was coaching the Boston Celtics the year that Nowitzki was drafted, worked him out in a tennis bubble outside of Rome.
“He put on a 45-minute display unlike anything I’d seen before,” Pitino said. “He was the most impressive workout I’ve had since I’ve been a coach. I said to myself, ‘I found the next Larry Bird.’ ”
Over lunch, Pitino convinced Nowitzki’s agent to play coy, telling teams that his client might do one more year in the German military instead of coming to the United States to play. In return, Pitino guaranteed that he’d take Nowitzki with the 10th pick in the draft.
Only problem is, Dallas got there first.
The success that Nowitzki’s versatile, fundamental game is having in the NBA is a reflection of how far the sport has fallen in the States. Sure, the league is bigger than ever, but it’s partly due to all the international players and how they excel at just about every aspect of the game. Look at Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Andrei Kirilenko – they do it all. Offense, defense, ball handling, free throws – you name it, these guys are at least decent at it.
It’s ironic that two American players – Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal – stand in the way of Nowitzki taking his foreign-bred game to the ultimate level, a NBA championship. Regardless of who wins, let’s hope that the success of Nowitzki, along with the other international players, has an effect on American youth, who should be working on their jumpers instead of their highlight-reel dunks.
Dwayne Wade is battling a sinus infection and sat out of practice on Tuesday.
Wade attended practice, “but didn’t do anything ultra-live,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. Wade went to team meetings and planned to fly with the Heat to Dallas later Tuesday.
Miami will practice in Dallas on Wednesday, then play Game 1 of the NBA finals there against the Mavericks on Thursday night.
“He’ll be OK,” said Riley, adding that he expects Wade will have a full workout Wednesday.
If Wade works out on Wednesday, he should be 100% for Game 1. If he sits out again, Heat fans can start to get worried.
Cap Situation
The Hornets have all kinds of cap room , having only committed to $31.5 M in salary next season. In fact, they have only one contract (Arvydas Macijauskas) that extends further than next year, unless the team decides to exercise its options on three different contracts.
One of those players is Chris Paul, and the team will surely extend his contract, keeping him with the club for three more years at a total cost of $11.6 M. Paul ran away with Rookie of the Year honors, making several teams, namely Atlanta, Portland and Utah – teams that had the opportunity to draft him – want to completely forget about the 2005 draft. His EPM of .590 was 21st in the league and 3rd amongst point guards, an amazing feat for a rookie. His shot to assist ratio (1.6) proves that he is more of a passer than a scorer, though he’s shown the ability to score when needed.
David West really benefited from the presence of Paul. In his third year, West had a breakout season, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds while shooting 51% from the floor. The Hornets should focus on building around Paul and West by finding players that compliment their considerable skills.
The team traded the disgruntled Jamaal Magloire to the Milwaukee Bucks for swingman Desmond Mason and a first round draft pick, which turned out to be the #15 selection. Mason hasn’t worked out as well as expected, providing only 11 points per game on some dismal shooting (40%). He’s in the last year of his contract, and at $8 M, his EPM (.264) just isn’t cutting it. Another $8 M is owed to P.J. Brown in the final year of his contract, and he’s just holding down the middle until the team can find someone better.
With all this cap space, it will be difficult not to pull the trigger on one or more free agents that might help the team get to the playoffs. The team’s locale (is it New Orleans or Oklahoma City?) might scare some free agents off, so the team might find better value if they wait until next summer to land a couple of big free agents.
Offseason Blueprint
The club will need make a decision on Speedy Claxton, who is a free agent this summer. His solid EPM of .424 makes him a very nice backup to Paul, though he’ll probably be able to find a starting gig elsewhere. If they can re-sign him for 4-years/$16-$18 M, it would be a good deal for the franchise.
Rasual Butler, another pending free agent, has a reputation of being a great shooter, but his accuracy (41%) and EPM (.298) don’t support that. The Hornets would be wise not to invest too much money in trying to re-sign him.
The team has needs at shooting guard, small forward and center. The team could make a big offer to Ben Wallace, but his age (32) and price would work against the Hornets’ plans. Nene is another option, but his health is up in the air. If the team is confident that he’ll be healthy next season, he should be a bargain.
A player on the rise is Jared Jeffries, who harassed LeBron James in the playoffs. With Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison getting most of the shots, Jeffries wasn’t asked to do much else, but the 6’11” swingman would be a nice fit with Paul and West. He’s a restricted free agent, so the Hornets could make an offer and hope that the Wizards don’t match it. Al Harrington would be a good fit, but does New Orleans want to meet his asking price? John Salmons (Philadelphia) is another (restricted) free agent swingman that could flourish if given more minutes.
The team has two draft picks, the aforementioned #15 pick along with the #12 pick, giving them the ammunition to move up if there is a player they love. Swingman Rodney Carney, center Patrick O’Bryant and shooting guard J.J. Redick would all make sense at #12 or a bit higher, though there are rumors that there is some bad blood between Redick and Paul from their days in the ACC. Still, Redick would create all sorts of room for Paul and West, while Paul would create all sorts of shots for Redick. Find a defensive-minded swingman and a decent center and you’ve got yourself a solid playoff team in two or three years.
Notes:
NO/Oklahoma City’s EPM by player (league average = .445)
Player EPM League Rank
Chris Paul 0.590 # 21
David West 0.545 # 40
Chris Andersen 0.438 # 132
Speedy Claxton 0.424 # 146
Aaron Williams 0.412 # 161
Marc Jackson 0.411 # 166
P.J. Brown 0.410 # 167
Kirk Snyder 0.388 # 202
Linton Johnson 0.357 # 254
J.R. Smith 0.341 # 275
Rasual Butler 0.298 # 306
Jackson Vroman 0.266 # 326
Desmond Mason 0.264 # 330
Paul and West are clearly the best of the bunch. Claxton would be worth re-signing but not at more than $4-5 M a year. The rest of the roster needs a makeover.
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