Listen in as Anthony Stalter and I discuss the Cowboys (Romo, Roy Williams, Pacman), the injuries to Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Reggie Bush and Kellen Winslow, Shaun Alexander’s prospects in Washington and the Tony Gonzalez situation.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
(The opening and closing music is the criminally underrated Bob Marley song, “Lively Up Yourself,” which is missing from his famous Legend greatest hits compilation.)
Offseason Movement: The Bobcats re-signed Emeka Okafor to a big contract, which will keep the big man in Charlotte for the foreseeable future. The team hired Larry Brown to take over as head coach.
Keep Your Eye On: D.J. Augustin, PG
The Ray Felton Era may be over in Charlotte. The team drafted Augustin #9 overall, and it looks like they want him to be the point guard of the future. Brown is notoriously tough on his guards, so it will be interesting to see how this position battle evolves over the course of the season. The team has talked about playing Felton at off guard, but he doesn’t shoot the ball well and Jason Richardson will likely get most of the minutes there, so I’m not sure how that’s going to work.
The Big Question: Does Larry Brown still have it in him?
Brown is known for turning teams around. With the team building around Okafor, Richardson and Gerald Wallace, he does have some talent to work with. Can Brown get something out of Adam Morrison? It’s not a given that the 68 year-old has the energy or the stamina to succeed during the grind of another NBA season.
Outlook: The potential is there for a playoff berth in the East. If Brown can coax good play out of Augustin/Felton at the point, Richardson provides efficient shooting at off guard, and Wallace and Okafor continue to produce on the front line, then the Bobcats might be in business. The bench is a question mark, but that’s true for most of the teams in the league. If the team doesn’t buy in to what Brown is selling, we could be looking at another season of New York Knicks-style griping and complaining, only no one will care because it’s Charlotte.
Check out our NBA Preview page for a look at every team. We’ll be posting three previews per business day, which will take us up to the start of the season on Tuesday, October 28th.
Bad news, folks. Joseph Addai is going to miss some time.
Colts running back Joseph Addai has a slightly torn hamstring that is expected to sideline him two to four weeks, according to a Colts source, and rookie running back Mike Hart has a torn ACL that landed him on the season-ending injured reserve list, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy confirmed Wednesday.
Dungy said he envisions using Dominic Rhodes, Dawson and Simpson on Sunday at Green Bay. Dungy also said he does not think Addai’s injury is of the long-term variety, and it wouldn’t surprise Dungy if Addai could be lobbying to play by the end of the week.
But before that happens, Addai also is expected to seek a second opinion on his hamstring injury. As much as he would like to play, he also knows that if he comes back too soon from it, he risks aggravating it and sidelining himself even longer. So the inside word is, look for Addai to miss anywhere from two to four weeks, though it probably will turn out to be less time than more.
Savvy Addai owners should already have Dominic Rhodes on their roster, though sometimes roster limitations make that difficult. Grab him if you can, even if you don’t have Addai. He should be a productive RB2 as long as Addai is out.
Offseason Movement: Much has been written about the Clippers tumultuous summer. Out are franchise cornerstones Elton Brand and Corey Maggette and in are Baron Davis and Marcus Camby. For a while, it looked as if Davis would join Brand to give the Clippers a formidable one-two punch, but Brand elected to sign a big deal with the Sixers after the Clippers’ front office apparently ruffled the feathers of Brand’s agent, David Falk. The Clippers recovered (somewhat) by stealing Marcus Camby away from the Nuggets in a salary dump.
Keep Your Eye On: Eric Gordon, G
The team took Gordon #7 overall in the 2008 draft, and with Maggette gone, there’s a lot of opportunity for playing time. Cuttino Mobley provides a veteran presence at off guard, but if Gordon shows maturity, he could usurp the vet before season’s end.
The Big Question: Will Brand’s departure doom the Clippers to mediocrity?
The Clippers are now featuring a 29 year-old oft-injured point guard (Davis) alongside two centers, Camby and Chris Kaman. While the Camby deal was a savvy one, I’m not sure how he and Kaman are going to play alongside each other in today’s smaller-is-better NBA. The youth movement consists of Al Thornton (who was decent in his rookie season) and Gordon. The Clippers are going to need great play out of both of those players to be a factor in the Western Conference playoff race.
Outlook: Grim. There seems to be a rain cloud over the franchise now that Brand is gone. Davis is their best player and he’s almost 30 and hasn’t had much success in the playoffs. With the current roster, the Clippers will be competitive, but unless they really gel or one of their young players (Thornton or Gordon) turns into an All-Star caliber player, it’s highly doubtful that the Clips will be fighting for a playoff spot come April.
Check out our NBA Preview page for a look at every team. We’ll be posting three previews per business day, which will take us up to the start of the season on Tuesday, October 28th.
Tony Gonzalez is in the twilight of his career but he is still one of the top three or four pass-catching tight ends in the game. The Chiefs are surely in the midst (or at the beginning?) of a rebuilding effort, so why would they hold onto Gonzo when there was a third round pick on the table? The Chiefs’ president, Carl Peterson, apparently was holding out for a second round pick. The Packers, Eagles, Giants and Bills all showed interest, but that offer never came, so Gonzalez is still a Chief.
Barring a few slight differences, this scenario is pretty similar to the Brett Favre situation this summer. Both players are All-Pro caliber and both are going to probably play one or two more seasons. The Packers traded Favre for a conditional fourth round pick that will turn into a third round pick if Favre plays at least 50% of the Jets’ snaps. It could turn into a second round pick if Favre plays 70% of his team’s snaps and the Jets make the playoffs.
So the market value for an aging, still productive Pro-Bowler is a second or a third round pick. It’s fine to hold out for a second rounder, but if your team is rebuilding and no one is willing to offer that up, take the third round pick! What good does it do you to have a grumpy Tony Gonzalez on your roster?
Not only that, but it’s a slap in the face of Gonzalez. Peterson deems that extra round more important than allowing the face of your franchise to go somewhere else and have a chance at a title. Everyone in Kansas City realizes that they aren’t going to be making a Super Bowl run in the next two years, so why not let Gonzo have a shot elsewhere?
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