Here are a few articles that I saw today that were somewhat interesting.
And the
winners are...
The people have spoken. In this case, the people are the NBA's 30 general managers, who were recently polled by the league on 50 topics. Here are some of the results, along with our own comments:
If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the NBA, who would it be?
Tim Duncan - 48%
Kevin Garnett - 29%
LeBron James - 14%
Shaquille O'Neal - 10%
Our view: What, nobody voted for Trevor Ariza?
Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments?
Shaquille O'Neal- 81%
Kevin Garnett - 10%
Tracy McGrady - 5%
Tim Duncan - 5%
Our view: Frankly, we're amazed that Shaq didn't get 100%.
Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2004-05?
Al Harrington - 37%
Yao Ming - 11%
Dwyane Wade - 11%
Jamal Crawford - 5%
Marcus Camby - 5%
Brian Scalabrine - 5%
Eddy Curry - 5%
Willie Green - 5%
Manu Ginobili - 5%
Chris Bosh - 5%
Jonathan Bender - 5%
Our view: For about the past eight seasons we've been waiting for Camby to break out.
Who is the toughest player in the NBA?
Ron Artest - 33%
Ben Wallace - 29%
Shaquille O'Neal - 14%
Karl Malone - 5%
Allen Iverson - 5%
Kurt Thomas - 5%
Kenyon Martin - 5%
Mark Madsen - 5%
Our view: If the topic were "the craziest player in the NBA," Artest would have gotten 100%.
Which was the most underrated player acquisition?
Brent Barry - 33%
Steve Nash - 10%
Lamar Odom - 10%
Brian Cardinal - 10%
Jason Terry - 5%
Antawn Jamison - 5%
Erick Dampier - 5%
Al Harrington - 5%
Nick Van Exel - 5%
Antoine Walker - 5%
Stephen Jackson - 5%
Our view: When all is said and done, it just might be the Pistons' signing of Antonio McDyess.
Which team will be most improved in 2004-05?
Phoenix Suns - 31%
Orlando Magic - 31%
Miami Heat - 14%
Cleveland Cavaliers - 5%
Los Angeles Clippers - 5%
Philadelphia 76ers - 5%
Washington Wizards - 5%
Houston Rockets - 5%
Our view: Hard to believe that the Nets didn't get a vote.
Who is the best head coach in the NBA?
Larry Brown - 38%
Jerry Sloan - 33%
Flip Saunders - 10%
Gregg Popovich - 5%
Rick Adelman - 5%
Rick Carlisle - 5%
Hubie Brown - 5%
Our view: About five of those coaches made the list only because Phil Jackson took the year off.
Which head coach makes the best in-game adjustments?
Larry Brown - 45%
Hubie Brown - 15%
Don Nelson - 15%
Flip Saunders - 10%
Jerry Sloan - 5%
Gregg Popovich - 5%
Paul Silas - 5%
Our view: We honestly don't know how Silas made this list.
Which head coach is the best in the last two minutes of a close game?
Larry Brown - 35%
Gregg Popovich - 20%
Flip Saunders - 15%
Hubie Brown - 10%
Jeff Van Gundy - 5%
Don Nelson - 5%
Jerry Sloan - 5%
Rick Carlisle - 5%
Our view: Yet another list Lenny Wilkens didn't make.
Which active player will make the best head coach someday?
Avery Johnson - 35%
Eric Snow - 25%
Steve Nash - 15%
Voshon Lenard - 5%
Lindsey Hunter - 5%
Kevin Willis - 5%
Antonio Davis - 5%
Mark Jackson - 5%
Our view: Mark Jackson will be coaching the Knicks before Phil Jackson.
Which player in the NBA would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?
Kobe Bryant - 80%
Tim Duncan - 5%
Dirk Nowitzki - 5%
Allan Houston - 5%
Reggie Miller - 5%
Our view: That's an impressive figure for Kobe, until you think back to how Michael Jordan used to score on this question.
Slam Dunks
In what had to be a record, after the Nuggets lost their opener to the Lakers, high-ranking members of Denver's front office skewered Jeff Bzdelik for his strategy of fronting Chris Mihm, whose 23 points in L.A.'s win marked a career-high....
The Rockets were none too happy that their schedule called for them to open the season with back-to-back road games (losses at Detroit and at Toronto) and four games in five nights. Compared to Charlotte's cushy opening with only four games over the first 11 days. The Kings and Wizards were the only other teams to open with back-to-back road dates, with Washington going 2-0, including a huge win vs. Memphis, and Sacramento going 0-2 in Dallas and San Antonio. ...
They say after Smush Parker finishes his stint on Detroit's injured list, the ex-Fordham guard is going to have to find a new team. ...
Remember how Orlando didn't take Emeka Okafor with the first overall draft pick last June because the Magic had legit concerns about his back? Well, his strong start still hasn't allayed any fears in Charlotte about long-term back problems for ex-UConn star. They're already allowing him to skip practices. ...
Did you notice? The Cavs decided not to pick up the option on Dajuan Wagner. Unless they did it to light a fuse under him, they're basically admitting that they blew the pick (No. 6 overall, 2002)...
. NBA owners are intent on scaling back maximum contracts from seven to four years, part of a plan to "come up with a system that's a bit more profitable (for the owners, who else?) than the existing system.... that doesn't reward players who are no longer basically in the league, or shouldn't be in the league at their higher prices," according to David Stern. That's going to pose a major problem for players. Players Association suits plan on stressing to the rank and file in their visits to dressing rooms just how much of a concession that would be....
All this talk about Phil Jackson coming to the Knicks in case Lenny Wilkens falters runs counter to the kind of team Jackson wants to coach. It has to be good enough to win a title and perhaps be an underachiever (as the Lakers were before he got to L.A.). Do we have to remind anyone around here how far the Knicks are from that point?
And the
winners are...
The people have spoken. In this case, the people are the NBA's 30 general managers, who were recently polled by the league on 50 topics. Here are some of the results, along with our own comments:
If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the NBA, who would it be?
Tim Duncan - 48%
Kevin Garnett - 29%
LeBron James - 14%
Shaquille O'Neal - 10%
Our view: What, nobody voted for Trevor Ariza?
Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments?
Shaquille O'Neal- 81%
Kevin Garnett - 10%
Tracy McGrady - 5%
Tim Duncan - 5%
Our view: Frankly, we're amazed that Shaq didn't get 100%.
Which player is most likely to have a breakout season in 2004-05?
Al Harrington - 37%
Yao Ming - 11%
Dwyane Wade - 11%
Jamal Crawford - 5%
Marcus Camby - 5%
Brian Scalabrine - 5%
Eddy Curry - 5%
Willie Green - 5%
Manu Ginobili - 5%
Chris Bosh - 5%
Jonathan Bender - 5%
Our view: For about the past eight seasons we've been waiting for Camby to break out.
Who is the toughest player in the NBA?
Ron Artest - 33%
Ben Wallace - 29%
Shaquille O'Neal - 14%
Karl Malone - 5%
Allen Iverson - 5%
Kurt Thomas - 5%
Kenyon Martin - 5%
Mark Madsen - 5%
Our view: If the topic were "the craziest player in the NBA," Artest would have gotten 100%.
Which was the most underrated player acquisition?
Brent Barry - 33%
Steve Nash - 10%
Lamar Odom - 10%
Brian Cardinal - 10%
Jason Terry - 5%
Antawn Jamison - 5%
Erick Dampier - 5%
Al Harrington - 5%
Nick Van Exel - 5%
Antoine Walker - 5%
Stephen Jackson - 5%
Our view: When all is said and done, it just might be the Pistons' signing of Antonio McDyess.
Which team will be most improved in 2004-05?
Phoenix Suns - 31%
Orlando Magic - 31%
Miami Heat - 14%
Cleveland Cavaliers - 5%
Los Angeles Clippers - 5%
Philadelphia 76ers - 5%
Washington Wizards - 5%
Houston Rockets - 5%
Our view: Hard to believe that the Nets didn't get a vote.
Who is the best head coach in the NBA?
Larry Brown - 38%
Jerry Sloan - 33%
Flip Saunders - 10%
Gregg Popovich - 5%
Rick Adelman - 5%
Rick Carlisle - 5%
Hubie Brown - 5%
Our view: About five of those coaches made the list only because Phil Jackson took the year off.
Which head coach makes the best in-game adjustments?
Larry Brown - 45%
Hubie Brown - 15%
Don Nelson - 15%
Flip Saunders - 10%
Jerry Sloan - 5%
Gregg Popovich - 5%
Paul Silas - 5%
Our view: We honestly don't know how Silas made this list.
Which head coach is the best in the last two minutes of a close game?
Larry Brown - 35%
Gregg Popovich - 20%
Flip Saunders - 15%
Hubie Brown - 10%
Jeff Van Gundy - 5%
Don Nelson - 5%
Jerry Sloan - 5%
Rick Carlisle - 5%
Our view: Yet another list Lenny Wilkens didn't make.
Which active player will make the best head coach someday?
Avery Johnson - 35%
Eric Snow - 25%
Steve Nash - 15%
Voshon Lenard - 5%
Lindsey Hunter - 5%
Kevin Willis - 5%
Antonio Davis - 5%
Mark Jackson - 5%
Our view: Mark Jackson will be coaching the Knicks before Phil Jackson.
Which player in the NBA would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?
Kobe Bryant - 80%
Tim Duncan - 5%
Dirk Nowitzki - 5%
Allan Houston - 5%
Reggie Miller - 5%
Our view: That's an impressive figure for Kobe, until you think back to how Michael Jordan used to score on this question.
Slam Dunks
In what had to be a record, after the Nuggets lost their opener to the Lakers, high-ranking members of Denver's front office skewered Jeff Bzdelik for his strategy of fronting Chris Mihm, whose 23 points in L.A.'s win marked a career-high....
The Rockets were none too happy that their schedule called for them to open the season with back-to-back road games (losses at Detroit and at Toronto) and four games in five nights. Compared to Charlotte's cushy opening with only four games over the first 11 days. The Kings and Wizards were the only other teams to open with back-to-back road dates, with Washington going 2-0, including a huge win vs. Memphis, and Sacramento going 0-2 in Dallas and San Antonio. ...
They say after Smush Parker finishes his stint on Detroit's injured list, the ex-Fordham guard is going to have to find a new team. ...
Remember how Orlando didn't take Emeka Okafor with the first overall draft pick last June because the Magic had legit concerns about his back? Well, his strong start still hasn't allayed any fears in Charlotte about long-term back problems for ex-UConn star. They're already allowing him to skip practices. ...
Did you notice? The Cavs decided not to pick up the option on Dajuan Wagner. Unless they did it to light a fuse under him, they're basically admitting that they blew the pick (No. 6 overall, 2002)...
. NBA owners are intent on scaling back maximum contracts from seven to four years, part of a plan to "come up with a system that's a bit more profitable (for the owners, who else?) than the existing system.... that doesn't reward players who are no longer basically in the league, or shouldn't be in the league at their higher prices," according to David Stern. That's going to pose a major problem for players. Players Association suits plan on stressing to the rank and file in their visits to dressing rooms just how much of a concession that would be....
All this talk about Phil Jackson coming to the Knicks in case Lenny Wilkens falters runs counter to the kind of team Jackson wants to coach. It has to be good enough to win a title and perhaps be an underachiever (as the Lakers were before he got to L.A.). Do we have to remind anyone around here how far the Knicks are from that point?
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