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[NBA] It would be good for the league

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by caffreys_irish_ale, Apr 8, 2009.

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caffreys_irish_ale Member

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I thought this was a good read and as good as the Rockets have played without T-Mac, if we had a healthy T-Mac this team would be a unstoppable.

Here's the link: Ten quick fixes that would help the NBA in these hard times

By David Aldridge, TNT analyst
Posted Apr 8 2009 11:32AM

For months, we have heard about the economic issues facing the NBA, looming collective bargaining troubles, the decline of once-dominant franchises and other potential maladies. Things could be better, to be sure. But all isn't lost. The league has a heaping helping of great young talent and hope in important markets. It would further help the L, though, if the next few months brought the following developments:

1.) It would be good for the league if LeBron, Kobe, Carmelo and Dwyane stay right where they are. A league that isn't geographically competitive tends not to be very strong. Having four of the NBA's top eight players spread across the country, in different time zones, playing vastly different styles, and all being successful, means that fans across the country -- conceivably, at least -- can see some of the game's best players in person. Extensions for all would assure future viability in four very different markets.

2.) It would be good for the league if Blake Griffin goes to Oklahoma City. Obviously, having Griffin -- can I say his name now? -- play professionally 40 minutes from where he starred in college would be huge for the Thunder's bottom line. Oklahoma City's management team has astutely built a promising nucleus, and needs a space-eater inside. But Griffin to OKC would also benefit the league by assuring that Kevin Durant, a superstar in waiting, gets the kind of exposure he deserves as he enters the meat of his career. Durant's game is hellacious, but if the Thunder keep losing 50 games a year, nobody's going to notice.

3.) It would be good for the league if the Clippers trade Baron Davis back to the Warriors. Davis and Mike Dunleavy hate each other. It's not going to work. So send BD back to the bay for Jamal Crawford and Anthony Randolph, whom Nellie is trying to run off the reservation, anyway. The Warriors were one of the most exciting, surprising stories in recent years when they exploded in the '06 playoffs, and Davis was their catalyst. Their long-suffering, incredibly loyal fans deserve a break.

4.) It would be good for the league if Peja Stojakovic's back holds up. When he's right, and knocking down threes -- like he was Tuesday in Miami, in a Fan Night game on NBATV -- the Hornets are a factor in the Western Conference, and they win games, and fans keep filling New Orleans Arena, and Chris Paul doesn't start imagining greener pastures elsewhere. After all the work that thousands of folks have done since Hurricane Katrina to get basketball back to the Big Easy, it would be a shame to see that franchise return to its old bad days.

5.) It would be good for the league if Ricky Rubio comes over from Spain next year. The great wave of Euro-centric talent that helped the league grow in the last decade -- Dirk Nowitzki, Stojakovic, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker -- is collectively pushing 30. And there aren't a lot of international stars in the pipeline. Rubio, the 18-year-old guard playing for Joventut this season, has the entire package -- skills, smarts, looks -- that will make him a star for any of the Lottery teams (but especially Washington, L.A. or New York, with their large Latino populations). A big contract buyout is an issue, but Joventut, like a lot of clubs, is having financial issues, and NBA types are hoping Joventut will agree to a sale that would send Rubio to the States instead of to another Spanish rival.

6.) It would be good for the league if Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson stay out of coaching for another year. JVG and Jax have become a delightful duo on ABC's Sunday games, disagreeing without being disagreeable, obviously knowledgeable (still can't believe Van Gundy, last year, pre-called Kobe Bryant beating the Mavericks for an offensive rebound off a missed free throw that hadn't been missed yet). Unlike many ex-players, Jackson isn't afraid to call out former peers. They're a good team with play-by-play man Mike Breen.

7.) It would be good for the league to give serious consideration to moving the Grizzlies to Seattle for the 2011-12 season. I have nothing against the good people of Memphis, who are doing the best they can. But attendance is flagging. Michael Heisley isn't selling to local owners. John Calipari's departure is a big blow for the Grizzlies, who are financial partners with the University of Memphis. And it's likely the Washington state legislature will be more amenable to committing public funds for a new arena in Seattle to anyone not named Clay Bennett. It's not a perfect or fair solution (or easy, with the Grizz on the hook for $50 million in penalties to the city of Memphis if they try and break their lease at FedEx Forum), but Seattle is a deserving market, with 40 years of near-unflagging support for the Sonics as collateral.

8.) It would be good for the league if the players understand how desperate owners are to cut salaries. There are hard-liners among the owners who want to slash the players' share of revenues from its current 57 percent to less than 50. Draconian? Ridiculous? Maybe. But owners will burn a season if that's what it takes. Another lockout would be catastrophic. The union will not want to contemplate reductions, but in this economy, the give will almost certainly come from labor. Better it come sooner than later -- too late to save the 2011-12 season.

9.) It would be good for the league if more players Twitter during games. The Bucks' Charlie Villanueva got in hot water for sending a Twitter text to fans during halftime of a recent game. But Villanueva pointed out that the TV networks grab players for halftime interviews all the time; what's the difference? (He didn't add, and I will, that we TV people also often tape excerpts from coaches' halftime talks to their players.) Twitter messages are almost comical in their brevity (hot now, drink water); a quick communication from players to their fans during a break isn't going to kill anybody.

10.) It would be good for the league if Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson return strong next season. They are two of the most popular and talented players in the game, but neither can seem to find the right fit. Here's hoping McGrady recovers from microfracture surgery next year for Houston and continues his career, and Iverson re-considers coming off the bench and re-surfaces next season for a contending team that could use his scoring in reserve.
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#1 caffreys_irish_ale, Apr 8, 2009

bravo six Member

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"If" being the key word there.

#2 bravo six, Apr 8, 2009
motionsiknes Member

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IF ONLY, is what I would say to most of the above.

#3 motionsiknes, Apr 8, 2009
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caffreys_irish_ale said:

I thought this was a good read and as good as the Rockets have played without T-Mac, if we had a healthy T-Mac this team would be a unstoppable.
Click to expand...

I doubt that
The Rockets play totally differently when TMac is out there

Rocket River

#4 Rocket River, Apr 8, 2009
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I still say Tmac for Baron and Camby. Didn't check the numbers, but Im sure we could find a filler if needed that doesn't disrupt out team. Let Baron school our two young guards into All Star type players, and if he breaks down, they are still ready to step up. Camby would be the regular back up that Yao needs night in and night out....that would also let Deke retire to be an assistant coach for the Rockets. That would be an awesome ending/beginning.

Love Tmac, but the risks/reward are leaning toward a trade versus a come back.

#5 ringin08, Apr 8, 2009
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Why would anybody want Baron Davis on this team? He's worse than Rafer Alston at chucking up horrible threes, and the guy can't run a half court offense to save his life.

#6 UTAllTheWay, Apr 8, 2009
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For #7, I'm fairly certain that Seattle lost their team with the endorsement of Stern, whose model for leveraging the construction of new arenas with support for modern NBA business practices built using partial/full taxpayer [extortion] funding would have been undercut had the city of Seattle won. In other words, doubtful. Seattle is likely now in a penance/punishment state for at least a few years until the point is adequately proven.

#7 moofs, Apr 8, 2009

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For #8, whether they understand it or not, simply giving in and allowing themselves to be run over roughshod would be an equally bad standpoint for bargaining. The owners definitely hold the cards, but just because you know you're down in the game doesn't necessarily mean you can just fold and leave the table. When you're negotiating a job, do you try to negotiate the best salary or beg for employment? Likewise, is there any motivation to run a business whose model isn't profitable? There is an impasse here, and the game/fans are going to be the ones to take the first hit in its resolution if time runs out.

#8 moofs, Apr 8, 2009
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I don't really care about NO.10...but I do hope B-Diddy returns to Warriors.

#9 ClutchCity3, Apr 8, 2009
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I want to correct his #1... It would be good for the NBA if Kobe, Wade, and Carmelo stayed put, if Lebron moved to NY, and if Rose becomes a superstar in Chicago.

#10 DwangBoy, Apr 8, 2009
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caffreys_irish_ale said:

10.) It would be good for the league if Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson return strong next season. They are two of the most popular and talented players in the game, but neither can seem to find the right fit. Here's hoping McGrady recovers from microfracture surgery next year for Houston and continues his career, and Iverson re-considers coming off the bench and re-surfaces next season for a contending team that could use his scoring in reserve.
[/URL]
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They should put this on #1 so you don't need to waste time to read it.

#11 caneks, Apr 8, 2009
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It would be good for the league if.....Tracy McGrady found a time machine, jumped back to high school and decided to pursue a baseball career.

#12 Rowdy4Life, Apr 8, 2009
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Rocket River said:

I doubt that
The Rockets play totally differently when TMac is out there

Rocket River
Click to expand...

Never really got to see how they would have played with a healthy TMac and the depth on this season's roster, but this was certainly his best chance to get the monkey off his back. I guess we will never know how it would have worked, or not...

#13 wheelmi, Apr 8, 2009

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Rowdy4Life said:

It would be good for the league if.....Tracy McGrady found a time machine, jumped back to high school and decided to pursue a baseball career.
Click to expand...

Yes, it would be good for the league if a 2-time scoring champion and the orchestrator of "13 in 35" had never existed and the Rockets would still be stuck with the contracts of a maxed-out Steve Francis and Kelvin Cato.

Tmac Hate run amok. And I hate having to defend the guy who quit on the team.

#14 pollaxt, Apr 8, 2009
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I never want to see Tracy McGrady in a Rockets jersey again.

#15 ClutchCityReturns, Apr 8, 2009
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It would be good for the BBS if the writer had a learning disability as a child that didn't enable him to learn to count past the number 9

#16 legend215, Apr 8, 2009
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Nice read. It would be really great to see Tracy come back strong next year it would be like a dream.

#17 T-mac&Yao=RING, Apr 8, 2009
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Cool read. I agree on some of the points, i would love to see t-mac come back strong and actually fit in with the team, and also see baron on gsw again, even though i hated them when they played us

Chilcutt

#18 Pete Chilcutt, Apr 8, 2009

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Seriously, I almost forgot that Tmac still belongs to the Rockets.

#19 startover, Apr 8, 2009
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if "if's and buts were candy and nuts we's all have a Merry Christmas"

#20 T_Man, Apr 8, 2009

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