Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 223 of 274)

Odom warming up to idea of role as sixth man?

In last week’s column, I covered the trouble Phil Jackson was having with finding a good spot for Lamar Odom to play now that Andrew Bynum is back from injury. The LA Times’ Laker blog says that things might be going a little better in that regard this week:

As mentioned in yesterday’s practice report, talk again surfaced about the best role for Lamar Odom this season. Could, perhaps, that snug fit come as a sixth man off the pine? Phil Jackson used LO off the bench for much of yesterday’s workout and after some sluggish possessions, the versatile forward acquitted himself nicely in unfamiliar territory. It should be stressed that Jackson hasn’t committed to this concept, even while noting that a quality sixth man can play starter’s minutes, which could very well be interpreted as a reassuring hint dropped. Thus far, Odom hasn’t been thrilled with the notion of joining the bench mob, but he does dig the increased preseason opportunities to handle the rock.

I think this is going to come down to Lamar Odom’s (or Andrew Bynum’s) willingness to come off the bench. A frontline of Odom, Gasol and Bynum, while imposing, probably isn’t going to work from an offensive perspective. The three would do best in a rotation, which means one of the three will usually be on the bench. For the most part, this will work fine, but what about crunch time?

Pacers ship Shawne Williams to Dallas

In a minor trade, GM Larry Bird sent Shawne Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for Eddie Jones and two second round draft picks.

Bird, the Pacers’ president, has made it clear he plans to repair the team’s image after several negative off-the-court issues in recent years. Williams, Indiana’s first-round draft pick in 2006, was dogged by three incidents involving police in the past 13 months.

“He’s got a lot of potential,” Bird told the Associated Press. “You hate to give up on those type of players, but with what we’re trying to do here, we felt it was best to move Shawne. This trade wasn’t made because he wasn’t talented enough, it was because of the other things.”

The Pacers already have traded Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson in the past three years for damaging the team’s reputation, and the Pacers have told Jamaal Tinsley not to show up to training camp after several scrapes with the law.

Williams will be reunited with new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Pacers when Indiana drafted him out of Memphis in the first round in 2006.

“There’s no question Rick wanted him,” Bird said. “He was there when we drafted him. He knew the talent, he knew the kid.”

The writing was on the wall for Williams. It was just a matter of time before Bird sent him packing. He has talent, but needs a fresh start. Maybe he’ll get it with Carlisle and the Mavs.

Monta Ellis injury occurred on a moped

He tried to tell the Golden State Warriors that he was hurt playing basketball, but the injuries Monta Ellis weren’t consistent with that story. It turns out Ellis was injured in a low-speed moped accident.

The team has not decided how to punish Ellis for violating the terms of his new six-year, $66 million deal by participating in a banned activity and trying to cover it up.

Since riding a moped is prohibited under the uniform player contract, the Warriors could move to terminate Ellis’ deal, though such a move seems highly unlikely.

A possible punishment for Ellis is a heavy fine or suspension. It’s also possible the Warriors will let Ellis off the hook completely, chalking the incident up to the youngster’s maturation process.

The question seems to be what steps the Warriors will take to punish Ellis for violating the terms of his contract, but what I really want to know is why Ellis was riding a moped in the first place? What’s the upside?

Gilbert Arenas out until December


The Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas recently had a procedure to clean up his knee and will be out of action until December.

Gilbert Arenas confirmed that he underwent a surgical procedure this morning that “cleaned out some debris” in his left knee. Arenas, who has undergone two surgeries to repair the left knee in the last two seasons, has been limited during the rehab process all summer and said he has planned all along on not participating in training camp or the preseason.

Arenas, who signed a six-year, $111 million contract this summer, said he plans on returning to game action sometime in early December which would mean that he’d miss at least the season’s first month.

“I just had some floating debris in there that was slowing me down,” said Arenas, who seemed to be in good spirits. “It was irritating the knee so we decided to go in there and clean it out. This should actually allow me to come back faster.”

Clearly, this is a blow to the Wizards, who signed Arenas to that monster contract thinking he’d be ready to go at the start of the season. The bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff race is usually pretty tight, and Washington will be behind the eight ball from the start.

Delonte West signs with Cavs

The trade for Mo Williams might have meant the end for Delonte West’s tenure in Cleveland. On Friday, the Cavs made sure that didn’t happen.

Guard Delonte West signed a multiyear deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, ending concerns the restricted free agent would hold out at training camp.

General Manager Danny Ferry didn’t disclose terms of the deal Friday.

The 25-year-old West will compete for time with Mo Williams, the former Milwaukee guard who was Cleveland’s major offseason acquisition, and Daniel Gibson, another Cleveland restricted free agent who signed back with the team.

I think the idea is for Williams, West and Gibson to play in a three-guard rotation in Cleveland’s backcourt. All three players are capable of playing both point and off guard, so they could make for a potent rotation.

It’s interesting that the Cavs elected not to disclose the terms of the deal. I think there should be a rule that teams have to report the length and value of the contract when they announce the signing.

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