Friday, December 18, 2009

The Celtics' Best From Beyond the Border

This week, Maine Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge will be taking part in his second Basketball Without Borders event when he heads down to Mexico City from Aug. 6-9. Ainge will be assisting with the NBA Cares mentoring program, but will the young skipper stumble upon the next Eduardo Najera?
Basketball Without Borders, consisting of the top youth players 19 and under from Asia, Latin America and Africa, as selected by the NBA, FIBA and participating federations, will train under NBA players and coaches and compete against their peers. The sessions will be held in Beijing and Johannesburg, South Africa, along with Mexico City.
"Basketball without Borders helps us to grow the game of basketball and bring attention to important social issues that affect communities around the world," Kathleen Behrens, the NBA's executive vice president of social responsibility and player programs told NBA.com. "We know that by teaching the values of the game -- teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work and healthy living -- our current and former players and coaches can also make a lasting impact on communities in need."
Ainge, the son of Celtics president Danny Ainge, was named the first head coach in the history of the Red Claws, who are one of the newest clubs to join the NBA Development League. With Ainge heading south of the border, one has to wonder how foreign-born players have fared wearing the storied green uniform.
Here is an attempt to list the top five foreign-born players in Celtics history:
5. Wally Szczerbiak: Despite playing in just 64 games for the Celtics, Wally edges out both Jiri Welsch and Michael Olowokandi for the fifth slot. Szczerbiak averaged 17.5 points and 3.2 assists per game in 32 games in the 2005-06 season and 15 points per game in 32 contests the next year. Szczerbiak was born in Madrid before moving to Long Island, N.Y., as a child.
4. Vitaly Potapenko: "The Ukraine Train" was shipped to Boston from Cleveland for Andrew DeClerq and a first-round pick in 1999. V averaged 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his first full year with the C's in the 1999-2000 season -- his only campaign as a full-time starter.
3. Dominique Wilkins: Nique, also known as "The Human Highlight Film," is the most decorated foreign-born Celtics player, but he only lasted one year in the Hub. The Paris native played in 77 games for the C's in the 1994-95 season, averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 boards and 2.2 assists en route to an All-Star nod. Wilkins played in nine career All-Star games and finished in the top 10 in scoring nine times, finishing first in 1986 with 30.3 PPG.
2. Rick Fox: The Celtics' first-round pick out of North Carolina (by way of Canada) in the 1991 draft lasted six seasons with Boston. Arguably the best year of his C's career was his last one, when he averaged a career-high 15.4 points to go with 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in the 1996-97 season. Fox averaged 10.7 points in 444 career games for the C's from 1991-1997.
1. Dino Radja: The 40th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft turned out to be a steal for the C's, who opted for the 6-foot-11, 26-year-old Croatian forward. Radja played just four seasons for the Celtics, but they were ever-lasting for C's fans, who watched Radja, along with Dee Brown, attempt to carry a team that won just 115 of 328 games (.351 winning percentage). Radja earned second-team All-NBA Rookie honors in the 1993-94 season by putting up 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. That year happened to break the franchise's 14-year playoff streak as the C's went just 32-50, their lowest win total since 1978-79. Radja would play 224 career games for the Celtics and average 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting .497 from the floor in 3,052 career attempts. 

The NBA's biggest problem? Way too many overpaid players

Last week's big-man trade of Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor might have seemed random when it came to the players involved.
But the deal was built around salaries.
Chandler has two more years and $24.6 million left on the contract he originally signed with the Bulls in 2005.
Okafor has five years and $62.7 million remaining, which means Charlotte shaved nearly $40 million in future salary commitments by making the deal with New Orleans.
The Hornets, meanwhile, trimmed a few million off next year's luxury-tax bill, since Okafor will make less this season. So each side saved money in some way.
Like so many industries, economics are troubling the NBA, and many observers expect another lockout in 2011 when the current collective-bargaining agreement expires.
I'd say the biggest issues the league needs to solve are keeping the games affordable and evening the playing field for small-market teams.
But the fundamental problem in the NBA right now is simply too many players who are wildly overpaid and locked into guaranteed contracts.
That's why teams make so many personnel decisions based on money.
With that in mind, let's rank the worst NBA contracts currently on the books:
1. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards (5 years, $96.3 million): Washington forgot the Grant Hill Rule - never foist a massive contract on someone who can't walk. Arenas has played in 15 games the past two seasons.
2. Elton Brand, Sixers (4 years, $66 million): This seemed like a good idea at the time, but Brand has played in just 37 games the past two years because of injuries.
3. Eddy Curry, Knicks (2 years, $21.7 million): Thanks to this contract, the former Bulls center may prevent New York's dream of chasing two major free agents in 2010.
4. Marko Jaric, Grizzlies (2 years, $14.7 million): This guy averaged 2.6 points last season. And that was before he married supermodel Adriana Lima.
5. Tracy McGrady, Rockets (1 year, $23.3 million): He will be the league's highest-paid player this season. I still laugh at how ex-Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy congratulated McGrady on TV last spring for winning his first career playoff series. Of course, T-Mac was hurt and didn't play a second.
6. Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz (2 years, $33 million): Utah might not be so eager to unload Carlos Boozer if it hadn't rushed to give Kirilenko a ridiculous deal in 2004.
7. Peja Stojakovic, Hornets (2 years, $29.5 million): This is a classic NBA mistake, bidding wildly for a free agent when there is no serious competition. Ben Gordon and the Pistons might be Exhibit B.
8. DeSagana Diop, Bobcats (4 years, $26.8 million): Dallas has a history of overpaying for mediocre big men, but the Mavs managed to unload this deal. Diop averaged 2.3 points and 3.6 rebounds last season.
9. (tie) Mike Dunleavy (2 years, $20.2 million) and Troy Murphy (2 years, $23 million), Pacers: As they finish up huge contracts, this pair has combined to play 1,048 games without ever making the playoffs.
10. Beno Udrih, Kings (4 years, $27.8 million): Might have been the league's worst starting player last season.
11. Bobby Simmons, Nets (1 year, $10.6 million): Hopefully, the former DePaul star will spend some of this money in his hometown.
12. Corey Maggette, Warriors (4 years, $39.7 million): Golden State felt it had to do something last year after losing Baron Davis unexpectedly. Signing another shoot-first perimeter player wasn't it.
13. Michael Redd, Bucks (2 years, $35.3 million): Milwaukee realized too late this is too much for a one-dimensional player.
14. Jerome James, Bulls (1 year, $6.6 million): Signing the massive center to a five-year deal in 2005 wasn't even Isiah Thomas' worst move as Knicks GM.
15. Brian Cardinal, T-Wolves (1 year, $6.8 million): A source swears the league distributed a memo last year warning teams that signing players to a full-term midlevel exception usually turns out bad. It was titled The Cardinal Rule, I'm pretty sure.
Honorable mention: Dan Gadzuric, Bucks (2 years, $14 million); Jermaine O'Neal, Heat (1 year $22.9 million), Etan Thomas, Thunder (1 year, $7.4 million), Sam Dalembert, Sixers (2 years, $23.6 million), Jason Maxiell, Pistons (4 years, $20 million).

Thunder Insider: Etan Thomas could fill sore spot

Etan Thomas, acquired in a trade with Minnesota, isn’t a savior. The 31-year-old power forward hasn’t even been a starter much of his NBA career.

Oklahoma City acquired Etan Thomas, left, in a trade with the Timberwolves. Thomas could help the Thunder with its biggest deficieny — interior defense.
But if he can stay healthy, Thomas could help address the Thunder’s biggest deficiency — interior play.
One stat from last season underscores the Thunder’s small margin for error in the paint.
Oklahoma City was 19-27 when it out-rebounded opponents, 4-32 when it lost the battle on the boards.
That startling stat is representative of a bigger issue more than to suggest rebounding is the end-all, be-all for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City lacks an inside presence, which is Thomas’ strengths. During his seven-year career he’s been assigned the dirty in-the-paint jobs.
Thomas is a chiseled body accustomed to drawing the assignment of guarding the league’s elite big men, something the Thunder sorely lacks.
The all-time shot block leader in Syracuse history, Thomas averaged 3.6 blocks during his four seasons under coach Jim Boheim. He’s averaged 1.0 blocks in 373 NBA games.
Thomas has averaged around 5.0 rebounds in 373 NBA games. While that doesn’t sound like a difference maker, it’s more noteworthy considering he has averaged only 18 minutes.
If Thomas provides 15 to 20 minutes of much needed inside muscle, it could be invaluable on a team full of scorers and young players who excel in transition.
Thomas’ influence might be invaluable in the locker room. He’s played in 20 playoff games, experiences he can pass along to the organization’s foundation pieces — Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
On a roster full of 25-and-under players, Thomas also can impart off-the-court wisdom.
Thomas wrote a poetry book that addresses hot-button political issues such as war, racism and the death penalty. He’s been lauded for his work in juvenile prisons and inner city schools in the Washington, D.C., area.
But for Thomas to make any contribution, he must first remain healthy. He missed the entire 2007-08 season after undergoing surgery for a heart ailment.
After Mayo clinic doctors repaired a leak in his aortic valve, Thomas returned at full strength last season only to miss the final three months after he suffered a torn knee ligament.
Even though he now lives in the nation’s capital, Thomas is returning "home,” having led Tulsa Washington to two state titles in the 1990s.
Interior play is the one area general manager Sam Presti must address for the Thunder to become a viable threat in the Western Conference in the next two or three seasons. In the meantime, Thomas could provide some help, even if it’s a role off the bench.

Scoring in the big leagues

A diesel van carrying half the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team is barrelling down the desolate highways of the Pacific Northwest.
Head coach Jay Triano is at the wheel, leading a boredom-evading discussion about the particular skills of NBA players, only this isn't a car game. It's the early 1990s, and the coach is working for video-game developer Electronic Arts Canada, filling an increasingly seminal role for the company's NBA Live franchise.
Somewhere between Lewiston, Idaho and Ellensburg, Wash., above the roar of the engine, Mr. Triano and his crew will determine a major element of the gaming experience.
“We'd sit there and I'd say ‘How do you rate this guy as a shooter?'“ said Mr. Triano, now of the Toronto Raptors, and the first Canadian to become an NBA head coach. “We'd take the average score and give it to the particular player. At the time, that was the best information they [EA] were getting. They were all computer guys building this game, but they didn't have a basketball guy. It's neat the way it has transformed.”
By transformed, Mr. Triano is referring to EA's ascendance into the professional sports club, its behind-the-curtain access, and its Nike-esque cachet among athletes. The long-time industry leader has evolved from making games about sports, to making games with sports.
From inexact beginnings in Mr. Triano's van, EA Canada is now a place that doesn't flinch at the sight of tennis luminary Venus Williams, or basketball's Dwight Howard, one of the NBA's emerging superstars, who visited its suburban Vancouver campus last month. Other visitors over the years include golfer Tiger Woods, soccer stars Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes, boxing champions Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis, and Dion Phaneuf and Jeremy Roenick of the National Hockey League. Vancouver Canucks players, who are far more accessible, have also helped the NHL game.
It's a good thing they all do visit, especially since the video game industry could use their help.
The recession has taken its toll across the U.S., with sales of consoles and games suffering their worst year-over-year decline in nine years, according to a report by market researcher NPD Group. Hardware, software and accessories sales fell by 31 per cent in June, to $1.17-billion (U.S.).
Electronic Arts Inc., (ERTS-Q19.50-0.07-0.36%) headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., late last year announced that it was slashing 10 per cent of its work force, about 1,000 people, including cuts at the Burnaby office, home to 1,600 employees. EA Canada moved its Black Box studio from downtown Vancouver to Burnaby to save costs. It also had another 20,000-square-foot downtown space, which was intended to be a third B.C. studio, but leased it to a third party.
EA Sports, the sports-games brand that made the firm famous in the 1990s, has accounted for about one-third of company revenues in recent years (revenues last year were $4.2-billion), and the NBA Live franchise annually sells more than 1 million units worldwide.
In 1991, the company bought out Distinctive Software Inc., the B.C. firm founded by Don Mattrick in 1982, and the Canadian arm began publishing many of the EA Sports titles, including basketball, hockey, boxing, soccer and tennis. EA Sports partners with sports leagues, governing bodies, unions, scouting services and broadcasters, but the relationship to athletics transformed its business.
It happened in the name of realism, which gamers began expecting, and which the company itself promised with its trademark phrase: “It's in the game.” And it happened because the technology, namely a realism-culling process called “motion capture,” and the advancement of the consoles, placed athleticism at the forefront of sports-game creation.
Rather than the passengers in Mr. Triano's van deciding on the individual merits of players from afar, EA went to the source, and began digitally replicating the athletes on which its sports games are built.
“We realized the level of fidelity we could get to in terms of how our characters looked, the way they moved, and the way they behaved,” said Brent Nielsen, an executive producer who started as an EA game tester in 1995. Dwight Howard, EA's cover athlete for NBA Live 10 , is a prime example of motion-capture possibilities.
The Orlando Magic centre stands 6 foot 11, and weighs 265 lbs. Clearly, Mr. Howard has few body doubles, but if he did, they wouldn't be able to move with his power, speed and grace.
“[With motion capture] we can get Dwight Howard's perfect signature shot, and we can get the suite of dunks that he typically uses at any given time in a game,” Mr. Nielsen said.
The motion-capture studio, the largest in the world at 40,000-square-feet, is equipped with 119 cameras and can also gauge the length of Mr. Howard's stride, the form of his shot, and the height of his leap. During these sessions, athletes will wear a skintight black bodysuit affixed with tiny rubber spheres wrapped in reflective tape. It allows the “mo-cap” team to record the movements three-dimensionally, and integrate the data into the games.
But Mr. Howard, just 23 and nicknamed “Superman,” also serves another purpose. Unlike superstars such as Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan, his generation was raised on video games, and understands their showmanship and entertainment.
“They play games now, and that's another big difference in the culture,” Mr. Nielsen said. “They speak with a level of not only an authenticity about the sport, but an authenticity about gaming … They know what players would be more likely to do in what situation, but they also understand that it's a video game that has to be fun.
“From our perspective, that's fantastic.”
The company will never be able to motion capture every athlete, in every sport, on an annual basis, so EA compensates as best it can. It employs scouts and consults communities of gamers with knowledge of sports. It is hiring more players from the NBA Developmental League, a minor league for basketball, and retired players, for motion capture shoots.
EA's game developers are continuously educated on their sports. They go on skating field trips, shoot hoops in the company gymnasium, and have twice weekly boxing workshops. If an employee isn't athletically inclined, then at the very least, he or she will know enough to join the conversation at sports bars.
“When I first came here, that wasn't necessarily the case,” said Mr. Richards, who joined in 1999. “We're method gamers. ‘
“We really dive deep into what that means and try to experience what that is, so that when we go to tell that story, it's coming from a place of authenticity.”

Former Husky Kevin Ollie Signs With Thunder

Free agent Kevin Ollie signed with the Thunder on Saturday, his 11th team entering his 13th NBA season. Ollie appeared in 29 games in 2002-03 for Seattle, which moved to Oklahoma City before last season.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Ollie brings "experience, leadership and professionalism" to the team. The Thunder finished 23-59 last season, 31 games behind Denver and Portland in the NBA Northwest.

The former UConn guard (1991-95) averaged 4.0 points, 2.3 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 17 minutes last season in 50 games, including 21 starts, with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ollie, 36, has appeared in 637 career games, averaging 2.3 assists, 3.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 15.8 minutes.

Time spent not spending

During the NBA draft in June, Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave his take on the offseason strategies of teams. Rivers noted about one-third of the league’s 30 teams seemed confident of going for the championship next season. Those teams are willing to spend money on free agents, the others shying away, believing they do not have a realistic chance of contending.
“Nine or 10 teams think they can win the championship next year, and you can see by the moves,’’ Rivers said. “Because of the economy, 20 or 21 feel they can’t. A group of nine looked at the Finals last year and said, ‘We can do this,’ and they are going for it.’’
Rivers’s assessment is playing out, but not just because of the economic downturn.
Most of the league’s teams simply cannot compete with the elite, so they are undertaking long-term rebuilding programs, or setting themselves up for next year’s free agent extravaganza.
But there are other factors muddling the free agent market.
Agents have struggled to judge the level of demand for players. The fates of restricted free agents Marcin Gortat, 25, and Glen Davis, 23, show how confounding the market can be.
Gortat gained a full midlevel exception contract offer from Dallas within a week of being eligible last month, the Orlando Magic matching. Gortat averaged 3.8 points per game in the regular season and 3.3 in the playoffs in 2008-09.
Meanwhile, Davis, who averaged 7 points in the regular season and 15.8 in the playoffs with the Celtics in ’08-09, has yet to receive an offer, and will likely settle for something less than the midlevel exception.
Gortat-Davis is an apples-and-oranges comparison, Gortat being a mobile 7-footer, Davis equally mobile but considerably shorter. But in recent offseasons, Davis would likely have been assured a contract worth the midlevel exception, based on his late-season and playoff performances. That still could happen for Davis, but the way things are going his expectations might have to be lowered.
“In my particular case, I couldn’t be happier,’’ said Guy Zucker, Gortat’s agent. “Gortat got the best deal of the year, the full midlevel exception, fully guaranteed for five years, equal to [Antonio] McDyess and [Rasheed] Wallace, [Ron] Artest, [Trevor] Ariza. Marcin played well in the playoffs and it helps that [the Magic] got to the Finals. He’s a center, he’s fast, athletic, quick, plays the pick-and-roll well, and plays with a lot of heart. And he played big in big moments. Whenever a team does well it helps everyone - coaches, players, GMs, owners, everyone.’’
Gortat is still a backup and, so far, an exception to a trend, and not just a midlevel one.
The trades of Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter from New Jersey to Orlando and Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee to San Antonio “would never have happened in a normal market,’’ Zucker said.
Anderson’s contract was expiring and Carter’s contract would have launched the Nets near $80 million in salaries next season. So, the Nets chose to stay with a young, relatively cheap roster, awaiting the 2010 free agent market. Milwaukee, like other medium- and small-market franchises, is simply cutting costs based on the economy, and on the NBA’s projected loss of revenues and reduction of the salary cap.
Then there is Allen Iverson, who earned $20.8 million from Detroit last season. If Iverson receives an offer, it will likely be a one-year, midlevel exception deal.
“It is not a lack of money, but a strategy,’’ Zucker said. “New York, for example, could easily pay more but is choosing not to. They want to reduce the payroll and grab a superstar.’’
The “haves’’ are using the perceived economic downturn to their advantage. When the negotiating period began last month, many free agents expected teams to come to them. As time goes on, some of those free agents are not receiving the offers hoped for, so they are going from the pursued to the role of pursuers, going to teams with reduced demands.
There is also the European part of the equation. The failure of Dynamo Moscow signaled a significant reduction in demand for foreign players, reducing US players’ bargaining powers. Last year, Dynamo Moscow awarded contracts worth about $3 million to Bostjan Nachbar and Jannero Pargo. Now, those contracts are not worth their weight in rubles.
“A year ago, the market peaked for energy prices and the euro had a favorable exchange,’’ said Zucker, a Boston University graduate. “Ukraine and Russia are energy-driven markets, and now teams like Dynamo Moscow are barely able to function. Several teams could offer seven-figure salaries, not to superstars but to midlevel and below players. Now they can’t, so that takes away 15 to 20 jobs and reduces the leverage of the guys above them.’’
So, based on how teams have approached the free agent market, these could be the Celtics’ competition next season: Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, and Toronto in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champion Lakers, Dallas, Houston, Portland, and San Antonio in the Western Conference. Denver, Phoenix, and Utah have been willing to spend to keep free agents but have not gone outside for help.
But whatever happens during the remainder of the offseason, it is merely a prelude to next year’s free agency bonanza.

Scalabrine believes the best is ahead

Brian Scalabrine was on the same page as Celtics management with free agents. And Scalabrine believes the acquisitions of Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels will make the Celtics the favorites to regain the championship.
“I’m loving Rasheed Wallace,’’ Scalabrine said last week at a State House presentation for the team’s Heroes Among Us program. “And Marquis Daniels gives us versatility. Those two things, I think, make us the best team in the league.
“I’m incredibly psyched. Winning championships is something I want to continue to do. I felt we were the best team in the league last year, the year before, and we will be the best team in the league this year. The key thing for us is limiting guys’ minutes and being healthy. Our bench needs to be able to sustain leads or build them.
“Rasheed Wallace, if I had to name one guy that I’d want on our team he’d be the guy. The way Doc [ Rivers] uses power forwards, he’s a perfect fit for us. Defensively, he’s a dominant force and his basketball IQ is through the roof. [Daniels] is going to help Ray [ Allen] and Paul [ Pierce] get some rest throughout the season. And I’ve heard he can also play some point guard for us, so it would be nice to have him as backup, and maybe play with Eddie [ House] at [shooting guard]. He’s super versatile and that’s going to help us a lot.’’
The Celtics were 25 games above .500 after the first 29 games (27-2) last season. In the final 67 games, including playoffs, the Celtics were 17 games above .500 (42-25), losing Kevin Garnett (knee) in February.
“If we would have beaten Orlando or lost in the Finals without Kevin, I would have thought we overachieved,’’ Scalabrine said. “But even the team we had out there, we had really good players. But the biggest thing was the season wearing on, and wearing on Paul and Ray, the amount of time they had to play. Even then, those guys were awesome, what they did. But for us, it’s staying healthy and our bench has to sustain leads.’’
The Celtics had a 3-2 advantage over Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and maintained the lead going into the final quarter of Game 6 before losing, 83-75.
“Game 6 was disappointing; I’ll probably never get over it,’’ Scalabrine said. “But you have to move on.’’

Etc.

Waiting by the phone
Jeff Adrien said he is “still playing the waiting game’’ after suiting up for Memphis in the Las Vegas Summer League. Adrien, a Brookline native who played for the University of Connecticut, last month had a tryout with the Celtics, and has been looking to catch on as a free agent after being bypassed in the draft. The forward has to prove himself as a perimeter threat, but teams are realizing he could be a force off the bench as a rebounder and overachieving scorer near the basket. In Las Vegas, Adrien had 35 points and 26 rebounds in 78 minutes of playing time in four games, shooting 11 for 23 from the field and 13 for 20 from the foul line, as the Grizzlies went 5-0.

Mass appeal
Former University of Massachusetts forwards Gary Forbes, Tony Gaffney, and Stephane Lasme had productive showings in Vegas. Forbes averaged 17.8 points for the D-League Select team and Lasme averaged 5 points for San Antonio. Gaffney, a Boston native, averaged 3.8 points for the Lakers and has been invited to training camp in October.

Bench boss
David Blatt, who went from Framingham to Princeton to a major coaching career in Europe, will guide Russia in the European Championships in Poland next month. Blatt was recently fired by Efes Pilsen in Turkey but could return to Benetton Treviso, which last week added former Southern California guard Danny Hackett. The bad news for Blatt’s Russians is Andrei Kirilenko (Utah) will not play because of “personal reasons.’’

Thursday, December 17, 2009

GAME fueled by late teen’s passion

The death of 13-year-old Steven Odom stirred the community when he was fatally shot in October 2007 a few feet from his Dorchester home by a Roxbury gang member. Nearly two years later, the neighborhood is keeping his memory alive through the game he felt most passionate about.

Hundreds of people, along with Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, streamed into the Madison Park High School gym yesterday in his honor for the second annual Steven P. Odom Peace Charity Basketball Game. This year’s theme, Changing the GAME, which stands for giving, affirming, mentoring, and empowering, was aimed at bringing people in Dorchester and Roxbury together and highlighted the neighborhoods’ positive aspects, said Steven’s father, Ronald Odom.
“It is all in the name peace,’’ he said. “We are looking for that better day, we are working toward that day.’’
Three games were played between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., with a 15-and-under game first, then high school and college players, and, finally, NBA and overseas athletes.
Steven had been two grade levels ahead of Stephanie Soto when he was fatally shot, she said. Soto, who is now 13, did not know him personally, but came to yesterday’s game to play in his memory. The event “is special because everybody who knew him loved him,’’ she said. “He was well known in school.’’
Tyler Ryan, 16, said he lived down the street from Steven, and the two used to play basketball in the neighborhood. Yesterday’s game showed that Steven’s death brought the community together, he said.
“Steven did not like to see people fighting, and he loved to play basketball,’’ said the student at Boston Prep High School.
Steven “sweat, drank, and ate basketball,’’ his father joked. He slept with a basketball. He dribbled it while waiting for the bus, and when it accidentally rolled into the street one day and was squashed flat by a zooming car, “a neighbor said he had had a look on his face as though he had lost his best friend.’’
Passion for the game is what brought him and his brother together, said Brandon Odom. That is why he began coordinating the charity event last year. Now his greatest challenge, he said, is keeping his emotions in check while he is planning for the games.
“When it is all coming together, I realize it is for a great cause,’’ Brandon Odom said. “It brings me back down to think I am doing this for my little brother.’’
Ronald Odom said he hopes to develop the charity game into a two-day event that will include empowerment workshops and competitions with teams from other states.
“It is always a tragedy when a family loses a loved one to violence, but all the community support softens the blow, lightens the load,’’ he said.

NBA Veteran Kevin Ollie Joins The Thunder Basketball Team

Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.
  “We are excited to welcome Kevin Ollie to Oklahoma City,” Presti said. “He brings experience, leadership and professionalism to our team as we continue to develop our roster on and off the floor.”   Ollie, 36, has appeared in 637 NBA games over 12 seasons, averaging 3.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest with Dallas, Orlando, Sacramento, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Seattle, Cleveland and Minnesota. Last season, the 6-2 guard, averaged 4.0 points 2.3 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 17.0 minutes in 50 games (21 starts) with the Timberwolves.

Week in review/preview: Spurs adept at finding vets wanting a ring

The Spurs make a habit of acquiring an older veteran every year. Two decades of having either David Robinson or Tim Duncan on the roster usually means that a big man willing to deal with fewer minutes than he could get elsewhere will sign here.
Sometimes the move has paid off for the Spurs and the veteran looking for a championship. This time around, it’s 14-year veteran Theo Ratliff, a 36-year-old 6-foot-10 shot-blocking center, and 13-year pro Antonio McDyess, a soon-to-be 35-year-old 6-9 forward, looking to duplicate what these guys did and win that first ring.
Jerome Kersey
The 6-7 forward signed on Jan. 22, 1999, for his 15th season at age 37. He spent 12 in Portland, with two of those ending in NBA Finals losses. He wasn’t asked to do much. He averaged 15.5 minutes, 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds in the regular season and 10.9 minutes, 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in the playoffs, which ended with the Spurs’ first NBA title.
Kevin Willis
At 40, he played 71 games for a Spurs team that won the 2003 NBA title. The 7-foot center averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing 11.8 minutes a game. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 18 playoff games. He had played 17 seasons with six teams before coming to San Antonio. He played three more years.
Tony Massenburg
At 37, the 6-9 forward ended his circuitous career in 2004-05 where it began in 1990. The 13-year veteran played for 11 other NBA franchises and three more in Europe after spending 36 games with the Spurs to start his playing days. He averaged 11.5 minutes, 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 61 games, but he only played nine playoff games when the Spurs won their third NBA title.
Jacque Vaughn
A veteran of four other teams, the point guard played in all 20 playoff games for the 2007 championship team. Then 32, he averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 assists, and his minutes were almost cut in half from his previous season with the Nets. However, he provided a steadier hand when subbing for Tony Parker than Nick Van Exel had for the 2005-06 team.
Still ring-less
These veterans tried to do the same thing and win that ring with the Spurs, but it didn’t happen. So grabbing the old guy doesn’t always work.
- Terry Porter, G, 36, 1999-02
- Mark Bryant, F/C, 36, 2001-02
- Nick Van Exel, G, 34, 2005-06
- Damon Stoudamire, G, 34, 2008
- Kurt Thomas, F, 35, 2007-09
WEEK THAT WAS
Freak of the Week
News that Boston slugger David Ortiz is one of the 104 baseball players who tested positive for performance enhancers in the 2003 “secret” screening is just shocking.
Here’s a likable guy just trying to make his merry “Big Papi” way through life and BAM! He gets slammed with a lifetime of doubt, and the Red Sox now own a pair of suspicious World Series crowns.
Who saw this coming?
Not Bud Selig. Not Terry Francona. Not baby-faced Theo Epstein. Not Manny Ramirez.
Oh wait, he’s on the list, too?
Now that you mention it, Ortiz never hit more than 20 homers before 2003. Then he hit 208 in five seasons. Only two did better. Alex Rodriguez, another on the list, hit 220 in that period. Albert Pujols, hopefully never on any such list, hit 211.
How come I didn’t see this coming? (Wink, wink)
Best
Holiday cheer: If Christmas rolls around, and the Cowboys are falling short of expectations, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo still will be riding high — on your tree. Romo is 15th in Hallmark Keepsake’s Football Legends series of Christmas ornaments. Good luck finding one if you wait until the holiday rush. Troy Aikman is No. 2, and Emmitt Smith is No. 4 in the series.
Worst
Southern drag: The Big 12 South had four teams ranked in the top 13 at the end of last year. The other two? Texas A&M and Baylor start the season at No. 8 and 9, respectively, in Maxim’s worst BCS teams. Sure, it’s Maxim, but it’s as arbitrary as most of the polls used in the BCS formula. Perception is reality.

WEEKLY PLANNER
TODAY 2 - Sunoco Red Cross 500: The first of six races before the Chase for the Cup begins. Carl Edwards won this race last year, the first of four wins in five starts.
MONDAY 3 - Rangers at A’s: Texas gets a shot at gaining a half-game since the Angels are off. Oakland’s status as one of the AL’s worst helps the Rangers, too.
THURSDAY 6 - Dream at Silver Stars: Ann Wauters plays her first game at home this season. The center joined the Silver Stars Saturday after sitting out the first 17 games.
SATURDAY 8 - UFC 101: Middleweight champ Anderson Silva takes on light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin, while lightweight champ BJ Penn faces Kenny Florian.
SATURDAY 8 - Pro Football Hall of Fame: After years of denial, Cowboys receiver and Olympic champ Bob Hayes reaches his final resting place. He died of cancer in 2002.

Sports buzz: Spurs’ Parker out with ankle sprain

San Antonio fans have another star player’s ankle to worry about.
Point guard Tony Parker will miss the next game for the French national team after the Spurs confirmed a mild right ankle sprain Saturday.
The Spurs brought Parker, their leading scorer last season, back to San Antonio for tests after he injured his ankle and thigh in a collision with an Austrian player last week.
•Forward Hakim Warrick has agreed to a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Warrick, a former Syracuse star best known for blocking a potential game-tying three-point shot from Kansas’ Michael Lee in the 2003 NCAA title game, played the past four seasons with the Grizzlies.
•Oklahoma City signed 12-year veteran guard Kevin Ollie for his leadership and professionalism as the young Thunder develops.
•The Los Angeles Lakers waived star Chinese national team guard Sun Yue.
•Former Iowa State guard Mike Taylor was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kansas hoops schedule fills out
The Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase announced its matchups, filling holes in the Jayhawks’ men’s basketball schedule.
After a previously announced Nov. 17 showdown against Memphis, which Kansas beat for the 2008 national championship, the Jayhawks will face Central Arkansas on Nov. 19, Oakland on Nov. 25 and Tennessee Tech on Nov. 27. The three new games will all be at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
ESPN has also changed the tip time for the Jan. 23 Kansas at Iowa State conference matchup to 1 p.m. | Full schedule, C12
Venus easily advances to final
Second-seeded Venus Williams was at the top of her game against third-seeded Elena Dementieva.
She won 6-0, 6-1 in the Bank of the West Classic semifinals in a match that lasted just more than an hour.
“I felt like everything went well for me,” Williams said as she got ready for her doubles match with sister Serena. The pair advanced to the final with a 6-2, 6-2 win. “I was able to raise my level at the important parts.”
Serena lost in an upset Friday to Sam Stosur, who then fell to Marion Bartoli in the semis. Bartoli and Venus play for the title today.
•Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko cruised into the final of the Croatia Open by beating Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-1.
Davydenko, who missed four months with injuries at the start of the year but is 17-3 since the French Open, will face former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final.
•American Sam Querrey upset top-seeded Tommy Haas 6-3, 7-5 and reached the finals of the LA Tennis Open.
Querrey, the No. 6 seed, will play qualifier Carsten Ball, who beat Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) for the title.
Mine That Bird upset in W. Va.
Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird lost in a huge upset to Soul Warrior at the West Virginia Derby.
Dismissed at odds of 23-1, Soul Warrior won in a photo finish against Big Drama, while Mine That Bird wound up third.
•Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra is ready to run against the boys again.
The dazzling 3-year-old filly takes on Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and five other fellas in today’s $1.25 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
NHL investigating Hossa deal
Marian Hossa’s 12-year, $62.8 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks is under investigation by the NHL, the league confirmed Friday.
The Ottawa Sun reported that the league is studying whether the contract circumvents the salary cap and the collective bargaining agreement.
The Blackhawks said they disputed the implication, saying Hossa had a legitimate contract that was approved by the league.

Oklahoma City Thunder signs Kevin Ollie

The Thunder has signed veteran point guard Kevin Ollie.
Terms of the deal are unclear, but the contract likely is a one-year deal for the 36-year-old journeyman. The veteran’s minimum in 2009-10 for a player with 10-plus years of experience is $1,306,455.

Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook drives past Kevin Ollie of Minnesota during the NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008. BY NATE BILLINGS

“We are excited to welcome Kevin Ollie to Oklahoma City,” said Thunder general manager Sam Presti through a statement. “He brings experience, leadership and professionalism to our team as we continue to develop our roster on and off the floor.”
Ollie is entering his 13th NBA season and has career averages of 3.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. He spent last season in Minnesota, where he played 50 games for the Timberwolves and averaged 4.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game.
Ollie’s best season came in 2002-03 in Milwaukee and Seattle. While playing all 82 games, he averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 23.1 minutes.
Ollie has also played for Dallas, Orlando, Sacramento, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Indiana, and Cleveland. With the Thunder he likely will serve as a third string guard behind Russell Westbrook and Shaun Livingston and add another experienced veteran to help mentor one of the youngest rosters in the NBA.
The move brings the Thunder’s roster to 14 guaranteed players, indicating Oklahoma City could be done acquiring players this off-season. Under NBA rules teams can carry 15 players on their rosters but having an open spot during the season is an asset for teams looking to make trades or sign a player in the event of rampant injuries. 

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Celebrate Lamar Odom's return to Lakers, but don't plan another parade just yet

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice! The Lakers have signed Lamar Odom! The dangerous game of chicken is over. We can breathe easy again, we can begin celebrating back-to-back titles a year ahead of time! Start collecting the confetti for next June's parade to the Coliseum.

Uh, hold on a minute, not so fast . . .

Yes, of course, on the face of it, this is a wonderfully smart and savvy move by a team angling for a repeat. It certainly nudges the Lakers another step toward that goal, and Odom's chilled-out vibe will certainly be a tonic for a team that now must deal with daily doses of Ron Artest.

But some perspective is needed. Let's not forget who we're talking about. Signing Odom, as maddeningly inconsistent and frustrating as anyone in the NBA, ensures nothing more for Lakers fans than a continued roller coaster ride and another season of heartburn.

Next season, guaranteed, will come moments when you'll swear he's Elgin Baylor. There will also be times when you'll swear he's Elgin your aging third cousin who comes off the bench for his church league team. Despite their great talent, if we see too much of your cousin, the Lakers just might get upset in the first round of the playoffs.

Odom signs and it's now a lock that the Lakers will run the table next season? Be careful with that line of thinking. That's all I'm saying.

True, we found out during the most recent playoffs that a lively Odom can mean all the difference. We've long marveled at his physical skills. In crunch time, during the last two games of the Western Conference finals and in almost all of the NBA Finals, we witnessed No. 7 merge his fluid physicality with real, hard-edged aggression. For the most part, it was marvelous. It was also, in crunch time, a first.

The Finals went by quickly, four games to one, but a few bounces go the other way and it's all different. Against Orlando, Odom's contributions in his team's Game 2 overtime win -- 19 points (on eight-for-nine shooting), eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists, one steal and 46 minutes -- may well have kept the Finals from becoming a blood match. Bathed in the glow of another Larry O'Brien Trophy, those last impressions, the memories we choose to hold on to, are pure gold.

Ah, memories, how powerful. Already dealing with unease caused by swapping rock-solid Trevor Ariza for Artest, Lakers fans were worried sick these last few weeks, what with Odom and Jerry Buss engaged in an ego-fueled stare-down over a new deal. Suddenly, in the minds of many, Odom was a 10-time All-Star. In fact, despite having as much skill as anyone in basketball, he's never even been a one-time All-Star.

Now don't go getting me wrong. It's wonderful that he stays here. He isn't only a great talent; he's also a good guy and a calming force. Just don't believe for a moment that he's suddenly become a player who will deliver the goods night in and night out. Memories are powerful, and sometimes fickle.

We forget, after this last playoff run, the unexplainable pratfalls that have pockmarked Odom's career. One could sift through season after season of examples, but there's no need to go back that far. Remember that alongside those flashy playoff games last spring there were several with no luster at all. Remember Odom's two-point, 25-minute performance against Houston in Game 4, which kept that series a stalemate. Remember Denver and clunker Games 1, 3 and 4. Odom played a total of 93 minutes. He scored seven, eight and five points.

Remember how, smack in the throes of the playoffs, doctors were sending the Lakers unasked-for-advice theorizing that Odom's insatiable sugar cravings had created an NBA Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Remember how, not so long ago -- just the start of last season -- Odom was a whipping boy. When I wrote a piece last October titled "Don't be so hard on Lakers' Lamar Odom" my in-box overflowed with e-mails claiming I'd lost my marbles. Back then, in the minds of many who now say his signing ensures a dynasty, Odom was a lost cause: wonderful trade bait in a deal for Shawn Marion, a pack of pecans and an old goat.

Today, of course, we talk about how great Odom is and will be. Today we prattle on about how this signing ensures the spectacular chemistry of next season's Lakers and the wisdom Odom will bring his New York City running buddy, that wack job Mr. Artest.

Already there's talk of whether the city should pay for next year's parade.

Lamar is back! Rejoice! Rejoice!

Go ahead and do it. This is a smart and savvy move by the Lakers, true enough. But don't forget who we're talking about. With Odom, bless him, all that can be counted on for next year is more maddeningly spectacular inconsistency. It was good enough for one title. Whether it will be good enough for more isn't as sure a bet as many -- bedazzled by memories of a few great games -- seem to think. 

Answering your NBA questions: No love for Knicks?

As a huge Knicks fan (yes, some of us still exist), I didn't think there was any way we'd be able to keep David Lee and Nate Robinson after the seasons they just had. But no one seems to want them. What gives? Is it because no one has dough to offer? Or is it that they just aren't that good? — Charley Middleton, St. Louis
For sure, money is in shorter supply than it has been in recent seasons — and both Lee and Robinson have demanded paydays either approaching or surpassing $10 million per.
Nate Robinson and David Lee aren't enjoying free agency as much as they hoped. (Nathaniel S. Butler / Getty Images)
Even so, both of these guys have large holes in their respective games.
Let's start with Lee: He always hustles and relentlessly attacks both boards. But he can't shoot. His offense consists of elementary drop-steps. And he can't defend.
Also, the Knicks' barely controlled chaos generates more scoring opportunities for Lee than he'd find on a more disciplined ball club. For him to be a starter with a legitimate team, Lee would need to play beside a shot-blocking big man who would also need to be double-teamed whenever he received the ball in the pivot.
In other words, Lee is strictly a very limited role player. A 20-minute-a-game player off the bench for an excellent team. As such, he's not nearly worth the humongous contract that he has been seeking.
Robinson, on the other hand, is a freakish player who, barely 5-foot-8, can create makeable shots against virtually any defender. His range is outstanding, and he can sometimes single-handedly rally a team from a deep deficit.
But, like Lee, he plays inferior defense. And, despite his diminutive stature he's absolutely incapable of not only running an offense, but also of executing plays under pressure. In truth, he's a grossly undersized shooting guard.
Bad shots. Either silly- or non-passes. And a total focus on his own numbers. That's what's wrong with Robinson.
Not to mention that his foolish adolescent behavior on and off the court routinely alienates his teammates.
I take exception to your recent article that brands Chris Paul as being overrated. Also, how can you claim that Slater Martin was the last "pipsqueak" point guard to lead his team to a championship? What about Avery Johnson and Isiah Thomas? — Versal Mason III, Durham, N.C.
 
You're absolutely right about Avery Johnson. My bad.
But Zeke was another story altogether.
Thomas was at least two inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than Paul — so Zeke could not be characterized as a pipsqueak. In any event, he also played much better defense and his offensive skills were more diverse and effective than are CP3's.
When Paul truly learns to run an offense, when he can play adequate straight-up defense, when he doesn't require the help of a screen/roll to get good shots, then I'll remove him from this category.
It looked to me as though Derek Fisher lost his legs in the last four months of the season. Is he done? An if he is, who do you think should start at the Lakers point guard spot next year? — Aaron, Beverly Hills, CA
Throughout his career, Fisher has never been accused of being a speed merchant. In fact, he's so naturally slow that it's hard to tell if he's really lost a step or not.
In any case, he's still smart enough to draw charges, and play excellent team defense. On offense, he reads the triangle to perfection so he can still put himself into position to take (and make) open shots in critical situations.
He averaged slightly less than 30 minutes per game last season, and at age 34 he should be able to do the same again.
The question of his eventual successor remains to be answered. Jordan Farmar shows flashes of being able to take over, but still makes too many mistakes at both ends. Shannon Brown is another viable candidate. Brown has yet to prove that he can shoot well on the move, totally absorb the offense, cut down on his mistakes, and play a slightly higher grade of defense.
If I'm not mistaken, Vince Carter was once compared to Kobe and even to Michael Jordan early in his career. What exactly happened to Carter that changed his career so dramatically? — Aaron Ju
He always had, and still does, the same type of outlandish skills and athleticism as Kobe and MJ. But it took a while for VC's lack of heart to become irrefutably evident. He mostly avoids hard contact in the paint, makes frequent mistakes in the clutch, and doesn't play hard all the time.
Too bad.
Lamar Odom is good, and that's not a left-handed compliment. (Jesse D. Garrabrant / Getty Images)
You said that being left-handed is a big advantage for Lamar Odom. Why? — Reuel Vidal, Antipolo, Philippines
Only because virtually every right-handed hooper who ever played the game at any level can't help himself from instinctively biting for a right-handed fake. Guys will stay mindful that an opponent is indeed lefty for a while, but as the intensity of any given game increases even the most veteran players tend to lose their mindfulness and make automatic reactions to certain moves and suggestions.
For the same reasons, most defenders are much more comfortable pushing off with their right (power) foot and sliding to their left than vice versa.
Plus, the scouting report on the vast majority of NBA right-handers is that they'll drive right and pull left. This is a pattern that borders on being automatic — and conditions defenders to believe they can challenge most leftward-bound jump shots without giving up too much ground. Which means they're apt to be leaning forward just a bit when their opponent does go left, and subsequently they can be easily turned.
Charley, you compared Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. What about the real best point guard of all-time, John Stockton? — Pete Jackson, Logan, UT
There's no question that Stockton was one of the best PGs ever. He was a deadly open shooter, could also pull-and-make off his dribble. He was likewise adept at changing speeds and drawing fouls. His decision making was unparalleled, and he was also very effective going back door on the give-and-go.
Of course, his screen/rolls in tandem with Karl Malone were exemplary. And it should be noted that he did more for Malone's game than the Mailman ever did for his.
Despite his lack of bulk — 6-1, 175 — Stockton was eager to set screens for his teammates. Most of these were back-screens. He was a hard-nosed guy, who many opponents believed was borderline dirty.
On defense, his primary weapon was his anticipation. But he always had difficulty defending wing screen/rolls against quick opponents. And, when helping on defense, he frequently over committed to ball penetration. Stockton was also a serial flopper. However, I feel that because of their size and strength both Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson created more radical matchup problems for opponents than did Stockton.
There is also a significant mitigating circumstance behind the fact that Stockton is the league's all-time assist leader. Longevity.
Here are the numbers:
  • Stockton played in 1,504 regular season games in 19 years, and averaged 10.5 assists per outing.
  •  Oscar appeared in 1,040 games during his 14-year career and registered 9.5 assists per game. It should again be noted that Oscar had more scoring responsibilities than either Stockton or Magic.
  • In his 13 years with the Lakers, Magic averaged 11.2 assists over a total of only 906 games. How about Stockton as the third-best PG in NBA history? Source
  • On the road with Isiah: Las Vegas

    LAS VEGAS -- He stood out, which you would expect of Isiah Thomas.
    The Henderson International School gym, a sweatbox of a hoops court with maybe eight rows of bleachers on one side and folding chairs doubling as the bench on the other, isn't where you'd expect to find a former NBA Finals MVP and 11-time All-Star.
    Except on this steamy July Wednesday, it wasn't who he is that made Thomas easy to find. He was easy to find because of what he was wearing.
    In a sea of school-emblazoned golf shirts and T-shirts lacking only the work of a BeDazzler to draw attention to them, Thomas stood out in a pale blue-checked shirt, a pair of navy blue dress pants and loafers.
    [+] EnlargeIsiah Thomas
    Doug Benc/Getty ImagesIsiah Thomas takes over an FIU program that has never quite gained its footing in Division I.
     
    There was not a single stitch representing Florida International on him -- not a logo, not an emblem, not even his new employer's initials.
    Understand the significance of this -- ubermarketer Tom Crean had T-shirts specifically made for the July recruiting period, with an intersecting IU on the front and "It's Indiana" printed on the back so "kids could see us coming and going."
    Coaches don't endure a 12-hour case of bleacher butt to evaluate talent so much as to baby-sit the talent they've already evaluated. This is a place to be seen.
    As he hugged the side railing near the door, Thomas was taking a major risk in his anonymity … which would, of course, be the case if he weren't Isiah Thomas.
    Without moving from his perch of more than six hours, 48-year-old Thomas welcomed a steady receiving line of visitors. College coaches stopped by to introduce or reintroduce themselves, the various hangers-on and entrepreneurs who populate the summer-league circuit inserted themselves into conversations just to say hello, and spectators tried desperately to be inconspicuous as they nonchalantly walked by, only to whisper and rubberneck once they passed.
    "Sure, the recognition helps," Thomas laughs, "but that's the way it's been my whole life. That's not why I'm here."
    Critics might snicker that Thomas' new head-coaching gig at Florida International is nothing more than an image reclamation project by the man and a public relations stunt by the university.
    They wonder how the bus rides to Mobile, Ala., will play out to a man accustomed to flying charters, question whether he has the stomach for the grind of recruiting when he has spent years evaluating NBA talent.
    To spend the end of the recruiting period on the road with college coaches is to spend a week in Dante's lowest circle of hell. Coaches are exhausted, bored and fed up. They're tired of being on the road, tired of watching games all day and half the night, tired of the travel.
    Fueled by nothing more than a fruit smoothie at 9 a.m., Thomas looks -- four hours later in a stuffy gym in the middle of the desert at the end of July -- as if he has landed in Candy Land.
    "The biggest difference I notice now is the passion and the raw emotion here,'' he says. "This game goes to the soul of these kids. In the NBA, it's entertainment or a job. This is the game at its purest. You can't fake that. You can practically smell it. And for me, it's so refreshing because I haven't smelled that smell in a while."
    [+] EnlargeIsiah Thomas
    AP Photo/Seth WenigSuffice it to say, the pressure at FIU will be much less for Thomas than with the New York Knicks.
     
    He has smelled a more offensive stench recently. In three seasons with the Pacers, he endured three first-round playoff exits.
    And then there was the nadir in New York, the professional and personal disaster that ended with him on the wrong side of a 23-59 record and an $11 million sexual harassment lawsuit.
    Of that, Thomas, who always has proclaimed his innocence, says, "Who knows what that was all about? I mean … who knows?"
    From the outside, FIU seems the perfect place to rebuild a career and a life -- a mid-major school that has not had a winning season in nine years.
    How can a man fail at a place that has never tasted success?
    But Thomas insists this isn't about licking his wounds and saving face. It is about basketball. It has always been about basketball. He likens the game to the adrenaline rush a person might get jumping from a plane, talks wistfully about his childhood days in Chicago, days when he played until he threw up and refused to leave the court even to use the bathroom.
    With candor, he admits that this interview wouldn't have gone as well if it had taken place in a coffee shop, that the comfort zone of the gym allows him to let down his guard.
    He has tried to find another love. Before taking the FIU job, Thomas dreamed of competing in an Ironman triathlon. He has biked a century race (100 miles) and still will pedal 30 to 40 miles a day when time permits.
    It wasn't the same. Since he was a kid sitting at the feet of Naismith pupil John McLendon, listening to McLendon speak at the Martin Luther King Boys Club in Chicago, Thomas has held strong to one belief:
    "I remember him saying this ball can you take you anywhere, all around the world," Thomas says. "You can dine with kings and queens, you can meet presidents and heads of state. If you're true to the game, it will be true to you. I've tried to stay true to the game, and it has always been true to me."
    It is this almost carnal love for the game that Thomas says has made the transition to FIU so easy. Others might look at it as a major step down. He considers it just another job in basketball.
    Sure, things are different. For one, he never had to sweat out an exam in the NBA. Passing the NCAA compliance test brought all sorts of horrors back for Thomas -- "I hadn't taken a test since college. I forgot how nervous I got. I was a wreck."
    And although the accoutrements of fame aren't vital to him, they are still available to him: He stayed at the luxurious Wynn while in Las Vegas, not exactly the host hotel and casino for his Sun Belt brethren.
    [+] EnlargeIsiah Thomas
    AP Photo/Lynne SladkyBy snagging standout commitments for 2010 and 2011, Thomas is making waves in recruiting circles.
     
    But on the positive side, there is the bounty of recruiting, where everyone, he says, is a free agent. No one is slotting whom he can and can't have. Everyone is up for grabs to the hardest worker, a challenge Thomas relishes. He already has commitments from 2010 point guard Phil Taylor, rated the 37th best at his position, and 2011's Chris Coleman, tabbed the No. 5 center in his class.
    For those who think he will thumb his nose when his new hotels fail to rate a Fodor's ranking, that he will succumb to the grueling schedule of summer recruiting, Thomas just laughs.
    You think sitting in a gym all day is tough? Try his final year in New York.
    Better yet, try his childhood.
    "You know the poverty line?" he says. "We were below it."
    Try playing a couple of years for Bob Knight.
    Or better yet, try living your whole life under the watchful eye of Mary Thomas. Now a feisty 87-year-old who has lost a leg to amputation, survived three heart attacks and every day all but gives the grim reaper a polite but firm middle-finger salute, Thomas' mother does not suffer fools or tolerate BS.
    When her son recently took her to one of the Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas, Mary decided when it was over.
    "I said, 'But Mom, it's the finale,'" Thomas recalls. "She just said, 'Mmmm-hmm' and got up. That was it. I used to tell Coach Knight all the time that he was nothing compared to my mother."
    And so as Hour 4 turns into Hour 5 without any sustenance save the water from the now-empty bottle at his feet, Thomas sits contentedly. Despite a thermostat that will not go below 80, even after Gonzaga coach Mark Few adjusts it, Thomas isn't sweating.
    He knows he's fortunate. His NBA career has dealt him the comfortable hand of not needing to coach for the money. If he gets canned in April, his pride might take a hit but his bank account will be just fine.
    "I know the rest of these guys, they can't say that," says Thomas, who donated this year's salary to charity. "For them, this is about money and survival. Me, I'm here because I want to be here."
    As he talks, a slow smile creeps across Isiah Thomas' face.
    This isn't where he needs to be for now.
    This is where he always wanted to be.
    Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com and can be reached at espnoneil@live.com.

    Tuesday, December 15, 2009

    Garfield High to host NBA stars and prep players in exhibitions

    No Sonics, no Portland Trail Blazers exhibition game, no problem.
    Despite the recent snubs, Dumi Maraire, a local entrepreneur, is bringing NBA-caliber games to Seattle.
    "We've got enough NBA guys to put on our own game," Dumi Maraire said. "With the Sonics not being here, we know there's basketball fans here that want to see these guys and we're giving them a way to see them that's cheap, affordable and fun."
    After a three-year absence, Maraire and business partner Dana Tade restarted the Adonai Hood Classic, which features NBA stars Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford among the list of players invited to participate in the two-day event that begins Saturday at Garfield High School.
    The tournament includes players from four high schools: Franklin, Rainier Beach, O'Dea and Garfield. Two games are scheduled each day and a dunk contest and three-point challenge are planned Sunday before the championship game.
    "It's been challenging trying to get this going again," Maraire said. "The hard part has been reaching out to players. It's a little challenging because you don't know the response. And in some ways, that was part of reason why we allowed it to leave because people took it for granted.
    "The response from the community has been fantastic. That part wasn't hard, but getting players to commit is difficult."
    Other players expected to play include: Terrence Williams, the former Franklin standout and first-round New Jersey Nets draft pick, Garfield High junior standout Tony Wroten Jr. and former Washington Huskies Will Conroy and Tre Simmons.
    NCAA restrictions prevent college players from participating in the games this year. However, UW guard Isaiah Thomas is scheduled to compete in the three-point shootout against former Husky Justin Dentmon.
    Tournament organizers are working to secure commitments from Sacramento Kings center Spencer Hawes and former UW Husky football star Lawyer Milloy to participate as celebrity judges for the dunk contest.
    "We want to bring the community together to something peaceful," said Maraire, who is also relaunching the Adonai Clothing line this fall. "We want to celebrate all of our athletes young and old. It blows me away to think how much talent is here and how many players came out of these four schools. So this is a chance to give kids an opportunity to see these guys up close and in a real way."

    Keeping Odom should keep Lakers on top of NBA

    There's little doubt that the extended drama involved in Lamar Odom's threat to sign with Miami was nothing more than a negotiating ploy to force a more favorable deal from the Lakers.
    Here are several reasons why Miami never had a real shot at Odom:
  • The ballyhooed fact that Florida doesn't have a state income tax was a red herring. So what if Odom could have saved about $200-300K per season? With the Lakers able to offer a signficantly larger salary, the tax savings would have been mere pocket change.
  •  All of Dwyane Wade's talk about Odom's "coming back home" to Miami was also nonsensical. L.O. was born in Queens, N.Y., has played a total of nine years in Los Angeles and only one in Miami.
  • Even if the Heat had inked Odom and Carlos Boozer, the best they could have hoped for was to finish behind Boston, Cleveland and Orlando. Why would Odom — or any other player in his right mind — leave a defending championship ball club to play on the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference?
  • There was some buzz about Odom's lingering unhappiness coming off the bench for the Lakers and Miami's guaranteeing him a starting slot. But hey, last June the guy averaged over 32 minutes per game in the playoffs and was always on the court in the end game. Winning the gold ring ultimately convinced Odom that finishing for a winner is better than starting for an also-ran.
  • L.A.'s pulling its offer from the table last week was just another business-as-usual negotiating ploy.
    Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom will chase more titles together. (Andy Hayt / Getty Images)
  • Hadn't Odom repeatedly claimed that Phil Jackson was his all-time favorite coach? And that he couldn't see himself playing under anybody else? That said, here's the usual run-down on what Odom will bring to next season's Lakers. Pros: Simply put, Odom can do just about everything he puts his mind to. Rebound, handle, run, jump, shoot from long range, post-up, pass and defend. All this at either the small forward or the power forward positions — and even playing center in selected matchups. More specifically, he can drive effectively both ways but prefers going left — and therefore works very hard (mostly with a nifty right-to-left crossover) to get back to his left hand. He's quite a handful when he posts on the right block and looks for his lefty jump hook or turnaround jumper. And he's learned to be aggressive when playing without the ball. Cons: His habitual lack of focus is a problem. Too often, Odom will disappear and not be a factor whatsoever. This happens perhaps one out of every three games in the regular season and one game per playoff series. Also, his 3-ball stroke can be flat. Plus, he exhibits too much ball and body movement at the stripe and is therefore little better than a lifetime 70 percent shooter from there, which is slightly below the average league-wide efficiency. Prognosis: With both Odom and Ron Artest in the fold, the Lakers are heavy favorites to repeat. All they need to round out their roster is another lively big man off the bench — Josh Powell doesn't fill the bill — and a guard/wing who can provide another reliable scorer off the bench. It could very well be, however, that if Adam Morrison's leg has healed and fully regained its strength, he could be the secondary scorer for the second unit. Note: The Lakers would have had absolutely no chance to re-sign Odom if there was an NBA franchise in Hershey, Pa. Let's also look at the most significant of the latest player relocations.
    Andre Miller, left, will force the Blazers into a more patient offense. Emeka Okafor, right, is a questionable acquisition for New Orleans. (Ned Dishman / Getty Images)

    Andre Miller to Portland

    Pros: He's strong, smart and can run an offense with clockwork efficiency. When he must, Miller can also overpower opponents and create his own shots. His hesitation moves enable him to consistently get to the hoop and finish. Has incredible court vision and a great drive-and-kick game. Can do a good job defending screen/rolls. Cons: Cannot run, shoot from long range or defend any but the slowest point guards in one-on-one situations. Prognosis: Miller's presence will force the Blazers to play a more deliberate style than they have in recent years. This will put even more pressure on Greg Oden to hasten his development. So even with Miller, Portland's future still depends on Oden.

    Matt Barnes to Orlando

    Pros: He's a high-energy player who can run the floor like a guard. Barnes' quick hops also make him an effective rebounder and an outstanding finisher. He has excellent 3-point range and rarely misses open shots. Cons: Takes far too many ill-advised shots, especially in fast-break or early offensive situations. His lefty handle is weak. Worst of all, Barnes is a below-average defender. Prognosis: If he learns to differentiate between good shots and bad ones, Barnes could be a streaky but potentially dynamic scorer off the bench. A probable plus for the Magic.

    Jamario Moon to Cleveland

    Pros: This guy is one of the best all-around athletes in the league. He can run, jump and change direction like a Hall of Famer. Moon is a highlight finisher on the break. Can also knock down treys and play aggressive defense. Cons: His incredible skills remain somewhat unsophisticated. Doesn't see the court well enough to make judicious passes and he makes mucho mistakes in executing half-court sets. Prognosis: If the Cavs can get him to slow down and look before he leaps, Moon could be a huge addition who greatly enhances their championship hopes.

    Tyson Chandler to Charlotte

    Pros: A quick jumper and eager shot-blocker, especially when coming from the weak side. Can outrun most other centers. Does a good job of spinning off of top-heavy interior defenders and making himself available for lob passes. Except for some lefty jump hooks, put-backs, and duck-under moves, Chandler's primary offense is generated by his slipping screens and dunking the resultant lob passes.
    Foul prone and injury prone, Tyson Chandler is likely to frustrate Larry Brown. (Doug Pensinger / Getty Images)
    Cons: Is very soft and can be bullied. Can't pass or score when stationed in the low post but gets upset when he doesn't get sufficient touches. When opposing players take the ball right at him and then execute a convincing pump fake, Chandler is so intent on blocking shots that more often than not he'll commit a foul. Is both foul prone and injury prone. A poor free-throw shooter. Prognosis: Is the perfect eraser in a zone defense, and the perfect backup. Unless the Bobcats come up with a more stalwart starting center, Larry Brown will be hard on Chandler's case all season long.

    Emeka Okafor to New Orleans

    Pros: Big, strong body and sure-handed rebounder. Will block his share of shots. Cons: His post-up moves are very crude and depend more on power than technique. A poor passer, Okafor is a turnover looking for a place to happen. Has trouble defending opponents who can face-up and go. Another below-average shooter from the stripe. Lacks the foot speed to provide Chris Paul with the screen/roll options that Chandler did. Is grossly overpaid. Prognosis: Plays better without the ball than with it. Could turn out to be the kind of lane-clogger that will limit the flexibility of the Hornets' half-court offense.

    Drew Gooden to Dallas

    Pros: Plays hard. Likes to post-up on left box and execute either his go-to move — a right-handed jump-hook — or a turnaround jumper. Also looks to spin on his drives. Can rebound, handle some, and block an occasional shot. Cons: Is a streaky shooter who stubbornly tries to shoot his way through dry spells. Has slowed down to a noticeable degree and since he's always had trouble defending quick players off the dribble, his defense is now highly questionable. Prognosis: Gooden is a career under-achiever and the Mavs are the seventh team he'll play with during the course of his (soon-to-be) nine years in the league. As such, Dallas is the latest outfit to believe it can prompt Gooden to fulfill his potential. Could be a useful player off the bench who should be quickly yanked when he misses three shots in succession. Source
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