coolhandluke
Starter
By Bill Simmons
Page 2
First, I have a scoop for you: A well-placed source tells me that Isiah Thomas is prepared to trade Channing Frye and Penny Hardaway to Denver for Kenyon Martin and Earl Watson, but only if Martin agrees to an MRI on his surgically repaired knee. If Martin's knee is in good shape, the Knicks are calling off the deal. If the knee is in rough shape, the deal is on. If the knee is in such terrible shape that the doctor says something like, "Wow, there's a good chance K-Mart might walk with a limp for the rest of his life," the Knicks will throw in an unconditional No. 1 in 2009 as well as Nate Robinson and $3 million dollars. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's another look at the NBA's "Big Picture," where I count down all 30 teams from "worst chance of winning the title" to "best chance of winning the title." I'll even separate them into categories for you. Without further ado...
...
...<snipped>
...
14. Sacramento
Another tentative ranking: Even though they're 20-27, once they get everyone healthy, would you want any part of these guys in a short series this spring? Oh, wait, the NBA dumped the five-game series in Round One; the concept was too exciting. I forgot.
(And just for the record, I first pushed for the Peja-Artest trade in my annual "Top 40 NBA Trade Value" column from 2004, a good four months before Chad Ford pushed for the same trade. So I get ESPN.com bragging rights on this one.
Anyway, I liked the deal more for the Kings: Artest gives them the best defensive stopper in the conference, someone who can cover everyone from Kobe to Ginobili to Brand. They had a "first round and out" ceiling before the trade; now they have an "anything's possible" ceiling. And I mean, anything. Right down to Artest fighting the Maloof Brothers to the death in the old "Real World" suite at the Palms.)
Link
NOTE from VF21: Please make sure you give proper attribution of both the article title and writer in the initial post. Thanks...
Page 2
First, I have a scoop for you: A well-placed source tells me that Isiah Thomas is prepared to trade Channing Frye and Penny Hardaway to Denver for Kenyon Martin and Earl Watson, but only if Martin agrees to an MRI on his surgically repaired knee. If Martin's knee is in good shape, the Knicks are calling off the deal. If the knee is in rough shape, the deal is on. If the knee is in such terrible shape that the doctor says something like, "Wow, there's a good chance K-Mart might walk with a limp for the rest of his life," the Knicks will throw in an unconditional No. 1 in 2009 as well as Nate Robinson and $3 million dollars. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's another look at the NBA's "Big Picture," where I count down all 30 teams from "worst chance of winning the title" to "best chance of winning the title." I'll even separate them into categories for you. Without further ado...
...
...<snipped>
...
14. Sacramento
Another tentative ranking: Even though they're 20-27, once they get everyone healthy, would you want any part of these guys in a short series this spring? Oh, wait, the NBA dumped the five-game series in Round One; the concept was too exciting. I forgot.
(And just for the record, I first pushed for the Peja-Artest trade in my annual "Top 40 NBA Trade Value" column from 2004, a good four months before Chad Ford pushed for the same trade. So I get ESPN.com bragging rights on this one.
Anyway, I liked the deal more for the Kings: Artest gives them the best defensive stopper in the conference, someone who can cover everyone from Kobe to Ginobili to Brand. They had a "first round and out" ceiling before the trade; now they have an "anything's possible" ceiling. And I mean, anything. Right down to Artest fighting the Maloof Brothers to the death in the old "Real World" suite at the Palms.)
Link
NOTE from VF21: Please make sure you give proper attribution of both the article title and writer in the initial post. Thanks...
Last edited by a moderator:
