DeMar DeRozan and Nate Robinson each had a couple of interesting dunks, but otherwise the 2010 dunk contest was a snoozer.
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Caron Butler is headed to Dallas, per ESPN…
The teams agreed on the principal pieces Friday: Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas for Josh Howard and Drew Gooden. Mavericks reserves Quinton Ross and James Singleton were added to the deal Saturday and are also Washington-bound, with Dallas due to receive cash considerations in addition to the three players.
I wrote about this deal yesterday.
To me, if the Wizards are rebuilding, why trade Butler for Howard? He’s 29 — the same age as Butler — and hasn’t been the player this year as he has in years past. He has a team option for next season, so presumably they’d let him walk, because if you can’t build around Butler then you certainly can’t build around Howard.
The right way to start a rebuilding process is to get some good young talent or first round draft picks when trading away stars. Otherwise, it’s just a salary dump. This deal might be appealing to the Wizards because they can try to sell their season ticket holders on the fact that, talent-wise, the trade was pretty even. But really, they’re just treading water, if that.
From a talent stanpdoint, this looks like a great trade for the Mavs. Butler is a significant upgrade over Howard, who has struggled this season. Haywood also gives the Mavs a defensive center who can give Dallas some toughness inside now that Erick Dampier is dealing with some soreness in his knee. Butler’s salary for next season ($10.6 M) is pretty reasonable given what he brings to the table.
On the flip side, Wizards’ GM Ernie Grunfeld continues to perplex me. When he was running the Bucks, he was the mastermind behind the disastrous Ray Allen-for-Gary Payton swap, and in the last two years, he signed Gilbert Arenas to an outlandish contract (for a guy coming off of knee surgery) and now, in an effort to “rebuild,” he’s trading away a very good 29-year-old small forward for a decent 29-year-old small forward.
The trade does bring salary cap relief but that’s about it. Butler and Stevenson were due to make $14.6 million combined next season, and the Wizards are potentially going to take on the $1.1 million still owed to Quinton Ross if he exercises his player option for next year. So, by trimming a net of $13.5 million from their 2010-11 payroll, the Wizards will have about $10 million in cap space this summer, assuming they don’t exercise the team option on Howard’s contract.
In other words, this is a salary dump, plain and simple. I’d be shocked if this trade isn’t a precursor to an Antawn Jamison in the next few days. What’s the point of trading Butler if you aren’t going to move Jamison too?
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, like any sensible human, doesn’t agree with Olympic officials that one of his nation’s athletes, luger Nodar Kumartshvili, is responsible for his own death.
From the Los Angeles Times:
“There were questions being asked about this place,” President Mikheil Saakashvili said. “There were suggestions that the wall should have been higher there.”
Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed when he lost control of his sled at about 80 mph, flipped over the lip of the track and slammed into an unpadded roof support post. Saakashvili reacted to suggestions that the 21-year-old athlete lacked the necessary experience to handle the course.
“They said that what happened yesterday was because of human error,” the president said. “Well, with all due respect … one thing I know for sure, that no sports mistake is supposed to lead to a death.”
Even some veteran lugers had previously commented on the difficulty of the Whistler track. Officials are now extending the wall along the lip, Saakashvili said.
“But I think the best news would be if, in the future, they listen more to the grievances of sportsmen,” he said. “And we don’t have to do things in the aftermath.”
The International Luge Federation and the Vancouver Olympic Committe are the ones who refuse to take responsibility for the tragic accident. They are morons. You see all the crying and the mourning from these guys in their suits, but their deep-seeded insensitivity is just disappointing. All they had to do was express regret for not taking the proper precautions. That’s it.
Fools.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Canada is booming with good-looking women this time of year. With all these buxom beauties out in the wild, it can be hard to abide by the proper decorum. Like the Toronto Raptors’ mascot, who just saw what he wanted, and went to town.
This is the funniest video I’ve seen in a while.
Natalie Gulbis has teamed with Adidas to create her signature shoe. I think the shoe is designed to help one on the golf course because I believe she’s a golfer. Check, she is a golfer. It’s just difficult to think about facts while looking at her.
I’ve included more pics after the jump as well since I’m such a nice guy.
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