Tag: 2009-10 NBA season (Page 40 of 61)

      NBA investigating Arenas’ locker room dispute

      January 1, 2010 /

      Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports….

      An NBA investigation into Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas’ possession of guns inside the team’s locker room has been linked to a confrontation with teammate Javaris Crittenton, multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports.

      The league’s ongoing probe hopes to determine whether Arenas had accessed any of his unloaded firearms while engaged in the dispute prior to a team practice at the Verizon Center on Dec. 21 in Washington. Tensions between Arenas and Crittenton escalated because of a festering disagreement between the two players, sources said.

      Peter Vescey of the NY Post reports that the dispute was over a gambling debt.

      NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the team’s locker room during a Christmas Eve dispute over a gambling debt, The Post has learned.

      It was the three- time all-star Arenas, 27, who went for his gun first, sources said, draw ing on the 22-year-old Crittenton, who quickly brandished a firearm as well.

      The duel in DC — unprecedented in sports history — was sparked when Crittenton became enraged at the veteran guard for refusing to make good on a gambling debt, a source said.

      “I’m not your punk!” Crittenton shouted at Arenas, according to a league source close to the Wizards.

      That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun, league security sources said.

      A playground pal of Crittenton’s from Atlanta, Kendrick “Bookie Ball” Long, confirmed the locker-room standoff and said he learned of it directly from the third-year player out of Georgia Tech.

      “He [Arenas] was f- – -ing with him; he [Crittenton] was just defending himself!” declared Long, who said the dispute was over money but would not elaborate.

      Arenas has a reputation of being funny crazy, but this just sounds like crazy crazy.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Why can’t Tyreke Evans play small forward?

      December 31, 2009 /

      Much has been made of the emergence of Tyreke Evans (22-5-5 in December) and how things are going to work once Kevin Martin comes back from injury. The Kings have three options: 1) try to play Evans at point guard when that’s not his natural position, 2) play Evans at off guard, even though he’s not a pure shooter, or 3) play Evans at small forward, even though he’s undersized.

      Evans is great at creating for himself, but he’s not a natural playmaker at the point guard position. Kevin Martin is an underrated scorer and should not be dismissed at off guard. He’s 40%+ from long range and can get to the line at will. He’d be great as a court-spacer/sidekick if the Kings can find a way to play him alongside Evans.

      What about small forward? Is Evans really undersized? Looking at the draft measurables, Evans is a tad short for SF (6’5″ in shoes), but his wingspan (6’11”) and standing reach (8’8″) are longer/taller than DeMar DeRozan, Chase Budinger, Gerald Henderson and Terrence Williams, and no one has a problem with the idea of playing any of those guys at small forward. He’s not a prototypical small forward, but the league is getting smaller and he definitely has a swingman-type game.

      The downside? Evans won’t have a strength advantage over most small forwards, which is one of the reasons he’s currently so effective getting to the rim. However, he will have a quickness advantage over most taller SFs, so that should help. Another issue is defensively with Evans and Martin, the Kings wouldn’t really have a stopper on the wing.

      Oddly enough, the solution would be at point guard. To complement Evans and Martin on the wing, the Kings would need to find a defensive-minded, pass-first point guard who is tall and strong enough to cover the other team’s best perimeter player. And it would help if he was a 40%+ shooter from long range. Think 2006-07 era Kirk Hinrich. He doesn’t need to handle the ball a lot, just get it up the court, initiate the offense, and share the ball on the perimeter.

      It could work, right?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NBA

      Hornets to move West?

      December 30, 2009 /

      Yesterday, we discussed the possibility of New Orleans trading Chris Paul, and now Henry Abbott of TrueHoop is bringing up the possibility of the Hornets trading David West before the February trade deadline so that they can avoid paying the luxury tax this season.

      Yet the Hornets are currently $3.3 million over the tax line and remain prepared to send away Brown in a deal that brings back no guaranteed money, as seen over the summer when New Orleans felt it had to essentially donate Rasual Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers because of the tax benefits.

      There is a belief among some rival executives — or perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a hope — that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold.

      New Orleans’ preference would obviously be moving out player(s) from its list of veterans with contracts that stretch beyond this season. That list presumably includes Emeka Okafor, Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Mo Peterson, Darius Songaila and Julian Wright.

      West has two years left on his contract, but he’ll almost certainly terminate the final year since it’s only worth $7.5 million and he’s likely to make more than that in a new deal. If the Hornets trade West, expect Chris Paul to become very unhappy. If the team was so concerned about the luxury tax, it should have thought about that before trading for Peja Stojakovic, signing Morris Peterson and James Posey, and trading for Emeka Okafor. West’s affordable deal is obviously not the problem, but it’s movable and that might appeal to the Hornets.

      I still think the team will do what it can to hold on to its nucleus and weather the financial storm. The Okafor trade was a signal that owner George Shinn is willing to spend.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Line of the Night (12/29): Kobe Bryant

      December 30, 2009 /

      The Golden State Warriors have trouble playing defense, and Kobe took advantage of this fact on Tuesday night, posting 44 points, 11 assists and four rebounds in the Lakers’ 124-118 win at the Staples Center. Bryant has a tendency at times to be more of a volume shooter, but on Tuesday, he scored 44 points on 27 shots (making 13) and also hit all 16 of his free throws. It was a very efficient night.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Should the Hornets trade Chris Paul?

      December 29, 2009 /

      Common sense says “no.” But Bill Simmons, the self-proclaimed VP of Common Sense, says it’s not such a crazy idea after all. He has one caveat: It has to be a “Godfather”-type offer (one the Hornets couldn’t refuse).

      Fake Trade 8A: Houston trades Aaron Brooks (expires in 2011) with T-Mac, Scola and Brian Cook (all expire in 2010) for Chris Paul and the Peja-Songaila-Posey cap-killing trio. Considering Houston’s deep pockets, it would have to do it — how else could the Rockets acquire a top-10 player? And New Orleans would fall under the tax (saving them about $16-17 million this year, plus another $25-30 million next year) and replace a decent chunk of Paul’s production with a Brooks/Darren Collison combo.

      Fake Trade 8B: Same trade as above, only with Miami giving up three ECs (Jermaine O’Neal, Mario Chalmers and Dorell Wright) plus Michael Beasley. Not as good a deal as the Houston one. Although the thought of a Wade-Paul backcourt just made me pee on myself.

      Fake Trade 8C: Cleveland deals the Shaq/Ilgauskas ECs with Jamario Moon (expiring 2011), J.J. Hickson (ditto) and Jawad Williams/Darnell Jackson (EC throw-ins) for CP3, Emeka Okafor, Peja, Peterson and Songaila. That knocks the Hornets well under this year’s tax, gets them out of $26.6 million of Peja-Songaila-Peterson in 2011 AND dumps Okafor’s monster deal ($70 million through 2014). Sure, it’s the biggest salary dump trade of all time. But shouldn’t New Orleans do the Grizzlies routine for a year or two (super-low payroll, rebuild through the draft) rather than losing $25-30 million a year to be a fringe contender these next three years? And if you’re Cleveland, don’t you have to take a risk like this to keep LeBron?

      Looking at the Hornets’ cap situation, they’re not going to have any real cap flexibility until the summer of 2012, which is the same summer that Paul can opt out of the final year of his contract. The Hornets could create about $12-$13 million of cap space in 2011 if they are able to move James Posey.

      The Hornets’ current dilemma is largely due to the decision to trade for Peja Stojakovic in 2006. GM Jeff Bower took a risk, thinking he’d get the Sacramento-era sharpshooting Stojakovic, one capable of spacing the court for Paul to do his work. Unfortunately, Stojakovic isn’t the scorer that he once was, and he’s such a defensive liability that it’s tough to give him big minutes. Moreover, he has a monster contract that will pay him another $14 million next season.

      So do the Hornets continue to play the luxury tax for a team that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere? Unless someone wants to take on one of these big contracts, no major changes can be made until the summer of 2011, and by then West will be unsigned and about to turn 31.

      The Okafor/Chandler trade was a sign that owner George Shinn isn’t afraid to spend, so I don’t see him blowing up the franchise (i.e. trading Chris Paul) to save money. He’s more likely to ride out these bad contracts, tinker around the edges, and try to create a situation to re-build around Paul in 2011 or 2012. Paul can’t opt out until 2012, and I don’t think he’ll want to leave — he has an owner who is willing to spend, but the gambles — Stojakovic, Posey, Peterson — simply haven’t worked out.

      There is enough talent in New Orleans for the Hornets to be a perennial playoff team until they can ride the Stojakovic/Peterson/Posey storm out. Unless you’re in dire fiscal shape (and like I said, the Okafor trade is a sign that that’s not the case), you don’t trade away a superstar who is in the middle of his prime.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

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