For a guy whose primary weakness has been a mysterious inability to play with sustained aggressiveness, Jeff Green sure has thrown down a fuckton (fuckton: noun. definition: a lot.) of spectacular jams. He had three powerful dunks in yesterday’s game alone, and those who follow these POTD updates know he’s been leading the league in such filthy endeavors for the majority of the season. Green’s latest poster, the fifth of his comeback campaign, comes at the expense of the human double-double, Nikola Vucevic.
On Friday morning, Rudy Gay was still in Memphis. Physically, I mean. Though he’s been a Toronto Raptor since Wednesday, Gay didn’t actually arrive in Canada until this afternoon, when he passed his physical examination and a crash course in Dwayne Casey’s playbook. Hours later, he was showered with cheers from his new faithful when he got up off the bench to replace Landry Fields six minutes and 51 seconds into the first quarter. Fittingly, the hectic pace of Gay’s frenetic day carried over into Toronto’s blowout victory over the Clippers. It took him less than two minutes to get to the foul line, where he scored his first points, and not much longer to throw down his first alley-oop jam. This type of transition play would become a theme for the Raptors — in racking up 23 points off turnovers and 14 on the break (seemed like more) they beat the Clippers at their own game. Coincidentally, Gay’s final jump shot gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the night — 31 points — before they went on to win by 25. Rudy led the way with 20 points on 8-16, and he looked damn good doing it; note the Carmine VIs.
One game certainly doesn’t change my negative opinion of the trade, but the Rudy Gay era is certainly off to a storybook start. Based on what I saw tonight, this Toronto team has the potential to become a League Pass sensation. Turns out Kyle Lowry, DeMaR DeRoZaN, Terrence Ross, Rudy Gay, and Amir Johnson (guy was a beast today; 19 points, 16 boards) run a mean break. Who’da thunk it?
In other joyous Raptor news, Landry Fields made his first three-pointer since joining the team (he’d been 0-8 on the season). The long-range score cost Colangelo and company a mere $3,506,097.56. What a bargain!
Moral victory! The Clippers got their asses kicked, but 19,800 Canadians went home hungry after the Raptors fell two points short of the century mark, which is the free pizza threshold at the Air Canada Center. Caron Butler assured that Jonas Valanciunas wouldn’t get a final shot off by executing a classic heel turn.
Congratulations, Caron; you’ve reduced yourself to the level of Hilton Armstrong. For real though, faking a handshake and stealing the ball from an opponent who has respectfully opted to dribble the clock out has got to be one of the most outrageously unsportsmanlike actions that one can possibly perform. Valanciunas would’ve been completely within his rights to commit a very hard foul.
For the third game in a row the Lakers built a huge early lead against a lottery team… and for the third game in a row they became involved in a tight contest down the stretch. Though the Wolves never were able to recover completely from what had been a 29-point deficit, they did slice the Lakers’ advantage to just four about midway through the fourth quarter. Fortunately for Los Angeles, Minnesota defends just as poorly as they do; with Pau Gasol (22/12) and Antawn Jamison (18/7) able to come up with a variety of easy scores on the interior, the Wolves simply couldn’t get over the hump.
Based on the past few games and their season as a whole, I believe the Lakers will continue to play improved basketball but will struggle to beat playoff-caliber competition. The Lakers’ fatal flaw is their inability to defend, even when they try. Don’t get me wrong, they defend better when they try, but they still don’t defend well enough. Teams like the Hornets, Suns, and Wolves will miss (and, during this little five-game stretch, havemissed) open shots. As far as I can see, nothing the Lakers are doing is causing their opponents to suffer through multiple scoring droughts of two or three minutes; it’s simply something that happens to bad teams. For what it’s worth, their offense has looked much better. The free-flowing ball movement continued on Friday as the Lakers recorded 27 assists on 39 buckets. For the fifth game in a row, Kobe had eight of them (this stretch remains unprecedented in his career).
Welp, Michael Beasley’s resurgence appears to have been short lived. In a 109-99 come-from-ahead loss to the Mavericks, Super Cool was super cold as he misfired on 11 of 13 attempts from the floor. Additionally, he committed a team-leading trio of turnovers (one of which was of the silly variety). Beasley is definitely cut from a different cloth, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t what he meant when he said he’d be getting “back to Beast.” In all seriousness, though, the timing of this dud is rather discouraging. Beasley was coming off one of the best games of his life and had even been showing a bit of consistency under Lindsey Hunter (one more good outing and his points finally would’ve eclipsed his shot attempts). Hopefully he can bounce back, but he’ll have to do so against some formidable competition. Beginning tomorrow, the Suns play their next four on the road. They’ll meet the Warriors, Grizzlies, Thunder, and Hornets, then return home to face the Thunder again.
In yet another come-from-ahead loss, the Milwaukee Bucks brought shame upon their epic throwbacks by getting progressively worse until they finally fell to the Knicks by a final score of 96-86. The Bucks got off to a great start at The Garden, racking up 28 first-quarter points, but consistent regression ensued. In the second, third, and fourth periods, the Bucks scored 25, 20, and 13 points respectively. Meanwhile, the Knicks located easy baskets down the stretch as they scored 10 of their 22 fourth-quarter points in the paint. Carmelo Anthony’s 25 led all scorers and extended his 20-point game streak to 31. Tyson Chandler ripped 20 rebounds for the first time since the Mavericks’ championship run and Amare Stoudemire contributed 17 off the bench. STAT, who exercised his physical prowess against Milwaukee’s lightweight frontcourt, has scored 14 or more in seven consecutive games.
The Miami Heat did not avenge their January 8th loss to the Pacers. As a matter of fact, they got smacked even harder; 102-89, to be precise. It’s been apparent all year long that the regular season bores the reigning champs, but I thought this was a game they’d be able to get up for what with the recent history between these clubs. I suppose it means nothing to the Heat unless it’s the playoffs. Fortunately for them, I sincerely believe this is a rare instance in which the switch can truly be flipped at moment’s notice.
How ’bout David West? 30/7/5 is nice, but peep the FG column — D-West went 12-15 from the floor (!!!). Indiana’s old reliable was able to achieve such efficiency by putting in yeoman’s work in the painted area, where two thirds of his shots were taken. Miami actually started their “big” lineup (Haslem at the four, Battier off the pine) to combat Indiana’s great size, but West still had no trouble in exploiting their lack of muscle.
As the Sixers beat the Kings 89-80, this was Andrew Bynum’s hair:
Another distinct style from the Iverson collection, this is essentially a gangsta twist (pun intended) on his french braids from back in December. This has been your Andrew Bynum follicle update.
In Brooklyn, the Chicago Bulls trotted out a starting lineup of Nate Robinson, the ghost of Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, and Nazr Mohammed. They lost, but only by four points. Something tells me that Gerald Wallace, who recently called getting blown out by the Heat “typical Nets basketball,” probably isn’t exactly thrilled by the fact that the Nets needed Andray Blatche and MarShon Brooks to come in and score 20 points in the fourth quarter to bring Brooklyn back from down three at the end of three. Taj Gibson, on the other hand, called the tough loss “good” for the Bulls. In the sense that they once again proved an ability to compete despite being without 60% of their starting lineup, he’s absolutely right. I’d definitely argue that the Bulls’ moral victory seems more impressive than the Nets’ actual victory.
Ty Lawson and Corey Brewer had 6 of Denver’s 14 steals as the Nuggets forced the Hornets to cough it up 21 times in a 113-98 victory. Lawson, Brewer and company racked up 32 points off those those 21 turnovers, as well as 32 points on the break and 62 in the paint. Lawson, who was criticized early in the season for playing far too passively, appears to have turned the corner; he averaged 18 points per game in January (four more than he had previously) and scored 21 last night. His shooting percentage (.479 in January) has had a positive correlation to his points and shot attempts, which demonstrates precisely why George Karl wants him doing things like this as frequently as possible.
Tayshaun Prince wasted no time getting acclimated to Memphis in an 85-76 victory over the Wizards. Though he came in off the bench, the Palace Forum Prince played nearly 32 minutes, during which he scored 14 points on 7-11 from the floor. Ed Davis, on the other hand, played just five minutes and scored his only two points at the free-throw line. Austin Daye had a similar debut, scratching on a technical free throw in the second quarter for his only point in 4:45. Already shooting Ts in his first game, though? That’s kind of impressive, right? Especially considering that the Grizzlies are the fourth-best foul shooting team in the league.
Box Score Observations: Thad Young had an incredible line — 23/15/2/2 STL — in the aforementioned Sixer victory. Jeff Green led the Boston Celtics past the Orlando Magic with 17 points (his fourth straight game in double figures). Tristan Thompson and Marreese Speights combined for 36 points, but the Pistons still ran away from the Cavs 117-99. Brandon Knight and Kyle Singler dropped 20 apiece whilst Greg Monroe recorded an 18/16 double-double. The Trail Blazers fell behind early but failed to make a comeback on the Jazz, who got 21 and 10 from Big Al Jefferson in an 86-77 victory.
Highlight Recap, Minnesota Timberwolves Edition: So good of you to actually make this dunk, Derrick Williams…
The Thunder made easy work of the shorthanded Grizzlies in the first half of TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader. Never did Oklahoma City trail in the game — they led by as many as 26 and took it by 17 — as Memphis appeared mired in a post-trade malaise. Kevin Durant led the way with a cool 27, Russell Westbrook had 21, and four more players recorded seven or more. All in all, it was a good night for the Thunder. So why, after an uneven contest in which they scored 106 points, shot 55%, and racked up 25 assists, was the focus on their possible chemistry issues — a subject that typically comes up only on the rare occasion that they lose?
Well, Because Russell Westbrook had a bit of a meltdown.
It all began with approximately nine minutes to go in the third quarter, when the Thunder led by 25. In an attempt to exploit a mismatch against the smaller Jerryd Bayless, Westbrook was called for a five-second backdown. None too pleased about it, he had words with Thabo Sefolosha, whose unwarranted cut through the lane kind of messed up the floor spacing. Moments later, Westbrook was taken out for a breather. Despite the play’s insignificant impact on a game that was never close, Russell continued to steam. He proceeded to storm off to the locker room, totally ignoring a small Thunder fan and knocking over a chair on his way. Mo Cheeks, who’d been trying to diffuse the situation, followed him into the tunnel and was eventually able to calm him down. When Russell did reappear, however, he still appeared quite distraught. With eyes red as beets and a scowl on his face, he maintained a blank stare until he finally checked back in for the fourth quarter.
After the game, reporters wasted no time in asking Russell exactly what had happened. Not surprisingly, he didn’t take too kindly to Craig Sager’s inquisitiveness.
Like a man, Russell? You controlled your temper like a man? First of all, bruh, men don’t say bruh, especially in a disrespectful manner to a fellow man who is only doing his job. Secondly, men don’t throw temper tantrums over such trivial matters as a turnover in a 15-point blowout. Thirdly, men don’t wear shirts covered in cow print and glasses which lack the lenses that give them a purpose.
As childish a display as this was, I imagine it’ll blow over quickly both in the media and in the Thunder locker room. Personally, I didn’t even think much of it at first. Though his emotions get the better of him from time to time, Russell has passion that can’t be taught. This passion proves to be an asset more often than not.
That said, there are two aspects of this scenario that will justifiably cause it to be perceived in a very negative light — that Westbrook’s anger was directed at his teammate, and that he allowed himself to become so incredibly upset about a petty matter during a game that the Thunder were winning so handily. To me, such intense anger over an inconsequential turnover is a reflection of Russell’s narcissism (and if you don’t think Russell is detrimentally narcissistic then we’ll just have to agree to disagree). Even though the turnover didn’t matter, he was apparently either embarrassed by it (five-second backdown calls aren’t exactly the norm) or furious because it cost him a shot attempt. Either way, it would seem to me as though it was a self-centered line of thinking that led him to become so perturbed with Sefolosha. Obviously, you’d prefer that your point guard had a more altruistic outlook. Then again, Russell Westbrook is better than most points guards. That’s why you put up with this. Right?
From the pick, to the roll, to the pass, to the finish — stylistically, this play is extremely reminiscent of some of the very best highlights of Amare Stoudemire’s career. The actual dunk is nothing overly spectacular — certainly not on the level of his famous smash over Michael Olowokandi — but it’s still a pleasure to see even a hint of vintage Amare from time to time. Pablo Prigioni came through with a solid Steve Nash impersonation as well with the slick little pocket pass.
Honorable mention to Danilo Gallinari, who sort of dunked on Greg Smith but not really.
This morning, Michael Lee of the Washington Post authored one of the most entertaining articles of this NBA season. The article, entitled Nick Young’s ‘swag’ going strong in Philadelphia, concisely chronicles the growth of Nick Young’s swagger from his time spent with the Washington Wizards, the team that drafted him in 2007, through his 18-point performance in Wednesday night’s Sixers victory over those same Wizards. Lee, in telling this fascinating, unconventional tale of development, utilizes some variation of the word “swag” on 10 occasions, and provides us with unprecedented insight into the making of a legend. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Nick “Swaggy P” Young’s extraordinary degree of swag, it’s all there in Lee’s piece.
For instance, exactly where did Young’s impeccable swag come from? Obviously, the ’80s baby was born in Los Angeles with a gift, but it was in Washington where he was educated in the art of swag by elder masters such as Gilbert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson.
Young was educated in the intricacies of swagger by Gilbert Arenas — whose “swag was phenomenal” — and DeShawn Stevenson — who once described himself as “swaggy” — when he arrived in Washington in 2007.
Most would argue that Young was drafted into a poor environment for basketball development, but if ever there was a place to be schooled in swag, that place was Washington, DC in the year of 2007. Back then, Young was known to many as “Bean Burrito,” but his transformation into “Swaggy P” was already in its advanced stages. By the time he left Washington for a return to Los Angeles in 2012, Young had a new identity and the equivalent of a PHD in the field of swag. Now, in Philadelphia, “Swaggy P” is blossoming.
Before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade last March, Young gave himself the Twitter handle, “SwagyP,” and it has taken on a life of its own in his new home in Philadelphia.
While making his third consecutive start for the 76ers on Wednesday, Young was introduced as “SwagyP” to fans at Wells Fargo Center. After each of Young’s three three-pointers, the announced yelled, “SwagyP for three!” A few fans were even spotted walking around the concourse in T-shirts with his No. 1 and “Swaggy P” written on the back.
Presently, Young’s swagger is hovering at a level that few have ever achieved. The star pupil has arguably even surpassed his teachers, as he has become almost synonymous with all things swag. Boosted in credibility by the acceptance of OG Doug Collins, “Swaggy P” is a full-blown phenomenon.
“Once coach started saying it,” Young said, referencing 76ers Coach Doug Collins, who has become a big fan of the former Wizard, “everybody started saying it, really.”
Young scored 18 points in helping the 76ers defeat the Wizards, 92-84, in his first meeting against his former team, connecting on two three-pointers in the third quarter and glaring angrily at Washington’s bench after each one. He flexed and mean-mugged after his second three-pointer and Kevin Seraphin and Trevor Booker nearly fell over laughing in their seats from the bench.
Arguably the most impressive of all Young’s incredible gifts is his uncanny understanding of when and where to draw the line. Those with even half as much swag as Young often walk a tightrope as their each and every move is critically scrutinized. As is the case with all geniuses of any discipline, the swagger savant must maintain the proper balance that keeps his brilliance from crossing over into the realm of insanity. Thus far, Young has proven himself prolific in resisting the influence of those less swaggerish than himself.
During his time in Washington, Young earned a reputation as a one-dimensional gunner but he also attracted attention with his unique hairstyles. He now sports something akin to a mohawk, something his teammate Royal Ivey compares to the video game character, Sonic the Hedgehog.
“It’s the 2013 cut. My SwagyP cut,” Young said.
Young tried to grow out his hair to compete with teammate and all-star center Andrew Bynum, whose awkward afro has garnered headlines since his brittle knees have kept him sidelined all season. Eventually, Young had to relent.
“Aw, man. Ain’t no competing with that. Have you seen that? He got me,”
Young said. “I tried but he started doing some…I don’t know what he been doing. But that’s Andrew. That’s how he’s been all year.”
Still, some would insist than one has not truly mastered his craft until he’s attained the ability to pass it on. In order to complete his metamorphosis, Young must teach others as Arenas and Stevenson taught him. This final stage of Young’s development has begun in his newly-discovered role of father.
Some of Young’s newfound maturity can be attributed to his 10-month old son, Nick Jr., who he calls, “Little SwagyP.” Fatherhood, Young said, has forced him to appreciate the small gifts while not sweating the small stuff.
“Aw man. It’s great. I was nervous at first. But seeing little dude, I’m going to try to make him say, ‘Daddy.’ His first word. Da da,” Young said.
“I’m in the house. I ain’t doing too much. I just want to be there for his first word. First time walking, crawling. All that. Most definitely, I really do believe it humbled me a little bit.”
I fear that the world is not ready for “Little Swaggy P.” Given his genetic disposition, Young Jr., under the guidance of his father, could be the LeBron James of swag.
It is worth noting that with all of this glory does come a certain degree of chaos. Amidst all the commotion of being a young millionaire, a new parent, an NBA ball player, and such a generally-swaggerish individual, Young has taken steps to assure that he maintains a level head. Last summer, Young developed a new motto to guide him through inevitable times of distress. And, as any swag aficionado would, he had it tattooed on his arm.
Nick Young always hid his addiction to ink by sticking to the “business” tattoos that were hidden under his jersey and could only slightly be detected up close. But last summer, Young decided to add some visible artwork to his left forearm: the Yankees’ NY logo surrounded by a huge star and the words, “In Swag We Trust.”
As he has demonstrated manytimes in the past and on multiple occasions this season alone, Joe Johnson’s handle is not something to be taken lightly. At any given moment he can and will exploit even the slightest lapse in discipline or loss of balance, leaving defenders stumbling or even sprawled out on the floor. Yesterday, Johnson’s behind-the-back crossover actually shook Chris Bosh so badly that he turned into something of a projectile, taking out a help defender in Udonis Haslem as he careened out of control. Joe Cool used the five or so feet of space created to simply pick up his dribble and drain the uncontested 20-footer.
From a fundamental standpoint, Bosh made a catastrophic error when he stopped sliding his feet laterally and turned to run alongside Johnson. As you can see, this makes it virtually impossible to react to the sudden movements of a talented dribbler. Unable to control his momentum, Bosh tripped when Johnson stopped on a dime. He then bowled into his own teammate, serving as a fantastic screen.
Super cool Lakers game, huh? On a serious note, this game kind of reminded me of their win over the Hornets, except of course they lost. As they did against the Hornets, the Lakers moved the ball extremely well with Kobe (nine assists) being the primary facilitator. Like the Hornets, the Suns struggled through some extensive field-goal droughts during which they simply couldn’t buy a bucket. Meanwhile, the Lakers maintained a comfortable lead, but again, they failed to drop the hammer, thus allowing the Suns to hang around and make a run. Unlike New Orleans, Phoenix made the big shots at the end. Wherein lies the difference? Michael fucking Beasley.
Like I said, Michael fucking Beasley. Michael fucking Beasley scored 10 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a — this really happened — RIGHT-HANDED layup between Ron Artest and Pau Gasol to give the Suns an 88-86 lead with 45 seconds to go. Being that the Lakers never scored again, I suppose it was a game-winner. A Michael Beasley game-winner — who’d have thought that would be the score to bring about yet another restart of the Lakers’ season? Nobody, of course, but it actually historically kind of makes sense. If you take a look at Beas’ game logs you’ll find that Mike has always been a Laker killer. For his career, he averages 16 points per game against them compared to just 14.5 against everybody else.
Also of note: Beasley has posted three 20-point games since January 12th and is dropping 16 and change over his last eight. Most indicative of his improved play is, shockingly, his field goal percentage — .479 on the month. Beasley has been so efficient of late that he’s actually on the verge of having more points (439) than shot attempts (440) this season. For now, though, Michael Beasley is still pulling a Michael Beasley.
Last thing about Michael Beasley: He did all of this with Jordan IVs on his feet and a samurai knot on his head. Can you say, “SWAG?!” That’s not even to mention those Suns throwback unis, which are hotter than the actual sun itself, or the fact that he was probably high as a kite.
Nikola Pekovic returned to action for the Wolves and looked mighty spry in a six-point loss to the Clippers. Maybe Minnesota could’ve picked up a W if they’d fed the beast more frequently — despite his borderline dominance (17 points, 12 rebounds), he only took 15 shots, which is like half as many as he’d get if I coached the Love-less Wolves. Also, Pekovic debuted a new tattoo covering his left forearm. He’d been concealing it with an arm sleeve prior to his injury, but the training staff apparently forgot the sleeve. You can’t see it very well here, but it’s a bear. Because “everybody’s scared of bears.”
DeAndre Jordan scored 16 points in this game, which basically means there’s a highlight reel which calls for your attention.
Actually, Jim Peterson, he said “OH SHIT!”
You can view the rest of his slam-dunking exploits here. Statistically, this was DJ’s best game in ages — possibly of the entire season. He’s not a guy whose impact can always be judged by the numbers, of course, but still… it’s encouraging to see. Speaking of numbers, Blake Griffin: 26 and 13.
For those of you who enjoy a good skirmish, Matt Barnes spontaneously combusted after just six minutes of Greg Stiemsma. I figure he’ll get a game or two for that, as his actions seem to have been unsolicited.
LeBron James stuffed 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists down Reggie Evans’ throat as the Heat ripped the Nets 105-85. James, who is “no different than Andray Blatche or Joe Johnson,” basically equaled their combined stat line of 28/9/6 in about half the minutes on two fewer shots with two less turnovers. What say you, Reginald? Dost this not count for reasons only an internet message board troll would cite? I love ya, Reg, I really do… but you were all sorts of out of line here, and it’s reflected by the final score.
Carmelo Anthony set a Knickerbocker franchise record by scoring 20 points for a 30th time in a row as New York defeated Orlando 113-97. Whilst the Knicks shot an incredible 14-34 from beyond the arc, Magic members not named JJ Redick went 3-17. Even considering Redick’s 4-9 they only shot 29%. Maybe they should’ve resorted to bounce shots. Jameer Nelson appears to have mastered the tactic…
A technical, Clyde? He made the fucking shot. What he should’ve been given is two points.
Three months ago, a bro from Indiana bought two tickets to see the Pistons take on the Pacers. This bro is not a Pacers fan, nor is he a Pistons fan — he’s a Tayshaun Prince fan, and very possibly the #1 Tayshaun Prince fan. With perfect seats right next to the entry tunnel, our bro arrived hours early in order to establish his position along the railing and see his hero up close. As the Pistons appeared from the locker room, however, Prince was nowhere to be found. Confused, the bro looked around the arena, shrugging anxiously. Finally, he pulled out his smart phone. Moments later, he realized what had happened, and called a friend to confirm. Overcome by epic fail and indescribable disappointment, he peeled off his #22 jersey to reveal a Kentucky t-shirt (Prince’s alma mater) and watched Detroit get creamed 98-79. No, seriously, this happened. From guyism.com…
Man, I feel for this bro. Really, I do. I know what it’s like to be a #1 fan, and I can’t imagine how I’d have felt had Stromile Swift not played in one of the many Grizzlies games I saw in Boston. That said, this bro does need to step his game up. A replica jersey? Nah, son — real stans only rock authentics.
Shout-out to knucklehead turned Pacers shooting guard Lance Stephenson. Lance has really been ballin’ lately — he had 12 points, 11 boards, and 5 assists in this one, and a season-high 20 points in that sketchy loss to the Nuggets on Monday.
Have the Raptors been shafted AGAIN?! While on first glance it certainly appears that they have, I’m going to say they have not. It’s hard to tell for sure, but it appears to me that Horford hit the ball before he ever made contact with DeRoZaN’s arms, warranting a non-call. I highly doubt that the league will be issuing yet another apology to Toronto, and to be honest they kind of deserve some bad basketball karma with that god-awful trade they just made. In other news, awesome move by Jeff Teague.
Danilo Gallinari had himself a night in Denver, dropping a third of his 30 in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets past the Rockets in a 118-110 shootout. The Rooster nailed four of nine triples, including two back-to-back in the fourth, threw down a monster dunk, and hit a ridiculous circus shot. Like I said, he had himself a night.
As the Bulls beat the Bucks 104-88, Nate Robinson threw down his first dunk of the season. Afterwards, he turned to his own bench and taunted his teammates.
Apparently they’d been talking smack, saying he wasn’t going to get any dunks this year. Joakim Noah actually owes Nate money now, according to SportsCenter.
Highlight Recap, Ricky Rubio Edition: “On the fly, congested passing lanes, three defenders… meh, I’ll just put this one through the wickets!” –Ricky Rubio, translated.
The NBA’s meta-season within its season was abruptly kick-started last week when the Memphis Grizzlies shipped most of their bench off to Cleveland for a seldom-used role player, Jon Leuer, and a little bit of luxury tax freedom. After that deal was completed, speculation ran rampant as to whether or not the Grizzlies were done maneuvering. Yesterday, they obviously proved they weren’t.
By now, I’m sure you know the details, but just in case you’ve missed it:
Memphis Grizzlies receive:
C Ed Davis (from Toronto)
Second-round draft pick (from Toronto)
F Tayshaun Prince (from Detroit)
F Austin Daye (from Detroit)
Toronto Raptors receive:
F Rudy Gay (from Memphis)
C Hamed Haddadi (from Memphis)
Detroit Pistons receive:
G Jose Calderon (from Toronto)
That’s a lot to dissect. It’s important to keep in mind the motivation, both basketball and financial, that causes deals like this one to get done. For the Grizzlies, it’s mostly financial – Gay is due to make more than $37 million over the next two seasons, and their new ownership group seems bound and determined to avoid the luxury tax, no matter what it takes. Tayshaun Prince is a downgrade from Rudy Gay, but will bring professionalism and defense to Memphis – opposing small forwards have compiled just a 10.8 PER against him this season. Austin Daye likely won’t be much of a factor, and the second round pick should be a fairly high one, but is, after all, still just a second round pick. As for Ed Davis… more on him in a bit.
Detroit had to part with a franchise cornerstone and fan favorite (Prince) but garnered a solid point guard (Calderon) with an expiring contract in the process, freeing them up to make a potential run at free agents in the summer. It’s the kind of deal smart teams make to create cap space and enable themselves to build around the young talent already in place – notably Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Brandon Knight.
There are a lot of reasons to hate the deal for Toronto, and since most of the basketball-writing world has spent the past 18 or so hours hashing those out in superlative detail, I’ll provide the Cliff’s Notes version here: After taking on Gay’s salary, the Raptors will have more than $147 million (through 2014-15) committed to five guys (Gay, Andrea Bargnani, Amir Johnson, Landry Fields and DeMar DeRozan) who probably should never all be on the floor at the same time. None of the five are true franchise players, and the team will have no money left to maneuver any further. Terrence Ross, Toronto’s promising 8th overall pick of this past year’s draft [editor's note: LET ROSS DUNK!], will immediately move behind Gay in the line for minutes, which will likely stunt his development.
As if all that wasn’t enough to sour your taste on the deal from Toronto’s end – the Raptors also sent Ed Davis, the 13th overall pick in the 2010 Draft, to Memphis. A 6’10 big man out of the University of North Carolina, Davis has rebounded nicely from his sophomore slump, when he averaged 6 points and 6 boards on 51% shooting. Since he started receiving consistent minutes following Andrea Bargnani’s injury, “Boss” has put up a 13/8/2 line on 55% shooting from the floor. He turns 24 in June and is still on his rookie deal through next season, in which he’ll earn $3 million. The Toronto coaching staff and front office spent a lot of time molding his considerable talent, only to jettison him a month and a half after it started to really pay off.
Toronto is also painfully ignorant of history – while trading away lottery picks that “haven’t developed quickly enough” for short-term answers is tempting, smart teams don’t engage in such behavior. There are plenty of examples of high draft picks who needed a few years of experience before turning into above-average players.
Who(Year Drafted)
When it clicked…
Stats Before
Stats After
Steve Nash (1996)
5th season, 2nd team,26 years old
237 games, 7/2/444/40/85 shooting%
70 games, 16/3/748/40/90 shooting%
Chauncey Billups (1997)
6th season, 5th team,26 years old
297 games, 11/2/440/36/87 shooting%
74 games, 16/4/442/39/88 shooting%
Jermaine O’Neal (1996)
5th season, 2nd team,22 years old
210 games, 4/3/047/0/56 shooting%
81 games, 13/10/147/0/60 shooting%
Joe Johnson (2001)
3rd season, 2nd team,22 years old
159 games, 9/3/241/34/77 shooting%
82 games, 15/4/443/31/75 shooting%
Jermaine O’Neal was 23 when he made his first All-Star Game – the rest were all over the age of 25 and had already completed at least five seasons in the league. I’m not saying Ed Davis is a surefire bet to be a future All-Star – but three years from now, he’ll be the most important player left from this deal, and it won’t be close. Fan expectations are colored by exceptions to the norm – we all want lottery picks to come in immediately and succeed. Young, gifted big men don’t just appear out of nowhere, and often require a little grooming and patience before you see a payoff. I would have expected Toronto to be just the place for Davis to get the time necessary to see if he could take the next step; instead, we’re going to find out if he can adjust to being a role player on a playoff team.
To complicate things further, Davis is going to a Memphis team with two terrific (and entrenched) frontcourt players in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and another forward(Darrell Arthur) who is well-liked by the Grizzlies’ coaching staff. He’s now the fourth-best big man in a loaded frontcourt, meaning he can kiss the regular minutes he was receiving in Toronto good-bye. It’s a shame, really. He’s a solid, if unspectacular, rebounder. He’s posting above-average shooting percentages everywhere from the rim-to-15 feet. His defense needs some work, but has been coming along since his inauspicious rookie year.
Memphis had problems scoring before the deal, and still will – but at least they get some financial freedom, and a young player with a lot of potential along with it. Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the roster responds to the deal, or if Memphis is done making moves. Oftentimes, folks are too quick to pass final judgment on trades – and while I’m tempted to say Memphis clearly got the better end of the transaction, much of the outcome depends on Ed Davis, and how he develops in the coming year and a half.
BreakTheHuddle primarily covers the MASH-unit otherwise known as the Minnesota Timberwolves. Leave a comment below, follow him on Twitter @BreakTheHuddle or email him at BreakTheHuddle@gmail.com.
Turns out there was some merit to the trade rumors involving the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors. With the help of Joe Dumars and the Pistons, Chris Wallace and Bryan Colangelo closed the deal sending Rudy Gay to Canada in exchange for Ed Davis and Jose Calderon, who will land in Detroit (just Calderon, not Davis; he’s a Grizzly). Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye will be headed to Memphis, and such minor pieces as Hamed Hadaddi and a second-round draft pick are also involved. You can read the full report on Yahoo Sports, and you can read my complete breakdown right here!
Winner — Memphis Grizzlies: On the first ever NBA247365.COM video podcast I suggested that the Grizzlies simply keep Rudy Gay for the remainder of the season. I said that because it seemed unlikely that they’d be able to dump his salary and improve their team simultaneously. The recent deal they made with the Cavaliers allowed them to keep Gay and stay under the luxury tax threshold for another year, so it no longer made sense that they’d still be willing to do something detrimental to their potential playoff success in order to rid themselves of Gay’s contract right this instant.
So, the reason that the Grizzlies are winners here is not because they shed the $35+ million owed to Gay over the next two seasons. They’re winners because they saved that money and arguably made themselves a better team in the process. Now, make no mistake about it, Rudy Gay is the best player involved in this deal. Of the three major pieces, he’s also the only one of the right side of 30. That being said, Tayshaun Prince and Ed Davis figure to strengthen the Grizzlies in some ways that Gay could not. First and foremost, Prince shoots 37% from distance for his career and 43% this season. Gay, on the other hand, has only been a 34% long-distance shooter for his career (and he’s really struggled recently — just 31% over the last two seasons). Three-point shooting has long been one of the Grizzlies’ foremost weaknesses. They rank just 23rd in the league at the time of the deal, but the addition of Prince ought to help. His shooting is especially valuable, too, because he’s a fantastic defender. This means he can and will be left on the floor down the stretch, when the Grizzlies might be most in need of a three-point make.
Additionally, the Grizzlies get a stellar value in Ed Davis, who has the remainder of this year plus ’13/14 remaining on his rookie contract. Davis has been excellent for the Raptors recently, averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds in the month of January. He’s young, athletic, and reasonably talented — a better (even if slightly smaller) Mo Speights, if you will. Davis adds much-needed depth to the Memphis frontcourt, which had essentially been reduced to Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Darrell Arthur.
As for Austin Daye… well, he probably won’t be a major factor. I suppose the one thing he does do reasonably well is shoot threes, so if nothing else his strength does meet a need of his new team.
Winner — Detroit Pistons: As much as it sucks to see the Pistons part with Tayshaun Prince, I think we all understand why it was the right decision. It’s nothing against Prince — just that he’s nearly 33 years old and makes $9 million per season. The rebuilding Pistons are no longer a team that suits him; he belongs on a contender, and a trade to the Grizzlies is a step in the right direction. In Jose Calderon, the Pistons get more than a $10 million expiring contract (which will put them $25 million under the cap for this summer’s free agency period). In the meantime, the Pistons receive the services of a quality starting point guard. While Brandon Knight has had his moments, he’s looked like a combo guard in most of them. The addition of Calderon allows Lawrence Frank to try Knight at the two, where he might excel.
Loser — Toronto Raptors: The Raptors got the best player involved in this deal, and they’ll probably be a better team for it. Hell, they could even make the playoffs. Problem is, that puts them at risk of suddenly becoming precisely what no franchise should aspire to be: a perennial eighth seed. In the NBA, it pays to be good, and it can even pay to be bad. However, it does not pay to be mediocre. Rudy Gay’s Toronto Raptors have mediocre written all over them.
As I said, the Raptors acquired the best player involved in this deal. Not surprisingly, the best player is also the most generously compensated. Rudy Gay is owed approximately $18 million next season, and $19 million the season after that. Even with Calderon’s expiring contract coming off the books the Raptors had committed about $58 million in salary for next season, according to ShamSports.com. Now they’re on the hook for upwards of $67 million ($73 million if they don’t waive Kyle Lowry by July 15th, when his $6 million becomes fully guaranteed). I believe they can still use their amnesty clause, and they will surely aim to rid themselves of Andrea Bargnani via trade… but it no longer appears as though they’ll be any sort of player in free agency this summer, when quality pieces like Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Nikola Pekovic will be available. To sacrifice every last ounce of financial flexibility (along with lottery selections, potentially) in order to add an overpriced wing who can only masquerade as a franchise player is impatient and irresponsible as far as I’m concerned.
It’s also worthy of repeating that Rudy Gay is in fact a wing. The Raptors just gave DeMaR DeRoZaN, a wing, and Landry Fields, also a wing, a combined $60 million. They also drafted Terrence Ross, another wing, eighth overall in last summer’s draft. They now have over $100 million in payroll allocated to four non-franchise players who play two positions. It’s a hundred-million-dollar logjam, if you will.
My final issue with this deal from Toronto’s perspective is the inclusion of Ed Davis (and a second-round pick, for that matter). As I mentioned before, Davis has been playing great ball lately, averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds in January. Considering the reasonable size of his contract, which will pay him just $3 million next season, he’s precisely the type of value that could help to offset some of the Raptors’ albatross contracts. It certainly seemed to me as though the Grizzlies were the most highly motivated traders of the three teams involved in this deal, so… why did the Raptors get the shaft? This would’ve been a solid deal for Memphis even if a lesser Raptor (maybe Quincy Acy or Aaron Gray) had been included. Ed Davis was essentially gifted to the Grizzlies.
Welcome to the very first POTD of Andre Drummond’s career. It figures to be the first of many, as the 19-year-old man-beast appears to be developing into a substantial force in the painted rectangle. How many, you wonder? Well, based on the 900 minutes it took him to achieve this dunk over Samuel Dalembert, a lot. Starting next season, if young Drummond is to posterize somebody once every 900 minutes whilst playing 36 minutes per game in 75 games per season until he’s 30 years old, he’ll end up with approximately 31 POTDs. Indeed, this is a rather arbitrary calculation that fails to account for many variables… but it does demonstrate the extensive dominance that could be in store for Drummond. Skip to 1:15…
Honorable mention to Klay Thompson for sort of dunking on Tyler Zeller.
