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NBA notebook: Stojakovic-for-Artest trade just part of a wild week
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 29, 2006
There likely have been more unusual and bizarre situations to occur during one week in the NBA, but this past one has to rank in the top two, maybe?
The Peja Stojakovic-Ron Artest trade between Sacramento and Indiana has to rank as one of the weirdest and most unusual deals in NBA history.
Rarely, if ever, have two guys who previously have requested to be traded seemed so reluctant to be dealt when the time came. Artest initially didn't want to come to Sacramento, and Stojakovic only a few days earlier said he'd like to play here his entire career.
Now, they both understand, or should, the significance of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for!"
The New York Knicks have spent the entire season attempting to right their ship. President Isiah Thomas has been taking hits for having the league's highest payroll and the Eastern Conference's fourth-worst record. The Knicks won their first six games of the new year and led some observers to believe new coach Larry Brown had gotten through to his squad.
Then the Knicks lost their next six games and took a hit off the court and in court when a sexual-harassment lawsuit was filed by former senior vice president Anucha Browne Sanders against Thomas and the team.
Moreover, Browne Sanders accused Thomas of attempting to add more Sunday afternoon games and then conspiring with hotel personnel in the city to encourage opposing players to go to certain bars and strip clubs.
There was the aftermath of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points, second only to the 100 points scored by Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962.
There were those who saw Bryant's performance as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and appreciated his accomplishment for what it was. It was a single-game performance that likely will not be achieved again and has been exceeded only once in the NBA's 50-plus-year existence.
Then there were those who believed the performance highlighted Bryant's perceived selfish approach to the game, despite the fact that his team trailed by 18 points in the third quarter and was led back by the swingman.
Some, such as New Jersey's Vince Carter, wondered if Bryant's performance was a poor example for young hoopers. Like it's going to even be an option for 1 percent of those hoopers to strive for such an abnormal point total. The only level on which Bryant's 81 has been approached or exceeded more than once is at the high school level. And that's one where there is more control by coaches than any. So any future opportunities to score in excess can be halted with quickness.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics basically traded Wally Szczerbiak for Ricky Davis with pieces added in to make the deal work and rearrange salaries for both teams.
They both can play shooting guard and small forward. Szczerbiak has more shooting range and accuracy, while Davis has improved as a shooter and is the better defender.
Pure Barkley
TNT commentator and future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was on the air discussing the trade and said, "Larry Bird is rolling over in his grave. The Celtics stink. I love (Boston executive director, basketball operations) Danny Ainge, but the Celtics stink."
Last we checked, Bird is alive and well and helping Donnie Walsh run the Indiana Pacers. Sure, we know what Barkley meant, but that statement is part of what makes his insanity hilarious - sometimes.
Rider in a storm
You could call him J.R. or you could call him Isaiah Rider, but what he usually ended up being called was talented and troubled.
The former 1993 first-round pick (No. 5 overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves was arrested Thursday for kidnapping a female acquaintance. Rider, 34, had the skill, talent and body to still be playing in the NBA, but he never could equip himself mentally to handle the league's lifestyle as a responsible adult.
Rider also played with Portland, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver before being waived in November of 2001 by the Nuggets.
Rider's ridiculous and uncontrollable behavior cost him untold millions of dollars and All-Star appearances. Despite his inability to avoid trouble, Rider nonetheless averaged 16.8 points per game.
One hungry forward
Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim had his jaw broken Dec. 26, with surgery and wires to support it shortly thereafter. He returned to action Jan. 19, but he's looking forward to soon having the wires removed and taking a trip for some legitimate grub.
"I've played sick before," he said, "but this is different because it's so hard to breathe.
"Yeah, I know what I want my first meal to be. I'm going to Morton's Steakhouse. That's the first thing I'm doing. But, you know, I can't eat a steak for another six weeks after (these wires) come out of my mouth."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBERS GAME
* Of the NBA's top 10 scorers, only Denver's Carmelo Anthony (eighth), Boston's Paul Pierce (ninth) and Milwaukee's Michael Redd (10th) weren't among them at the end of last season.
* Phoenix guard Raja Bell was 43 of 87 from three-point range in January before making 1 of 6 Friday night in a victory at Atlanta.
* Tim Duncan ended the 2004-05 season with the NBA title and was an All-NBA first-team selection. But he is below media sea level these days. His 20-point average ranks 22nd, and he is averaging 35.6 minutes per game - fewer than all of those who average more points.
* Take it to Philly - Wilt Chamberlain (100) and Kobe Bryant (81) have the highest-scoring games in NBA history, and both were born in the City of Brotherly Love.
* Bryant, Allen Iverson and LeBron James are the only players who entered Saturday night's action with more than 400 field goals made this season.
* Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Mihm has scored in double figures in 13 of the past 15 games through Friday night's action.
* Milwaukee won just 30 games last season but has won 22 this season to rank fifth in the East. If the season ended today, the Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers would be in the playoffs, replacing Boston and Chicago from last season.
* In the West, Utah, which won just 26 games last season, already has won 21 and would join the L.A. Clippers and Lakers in replacing the Kings, Houston and Seattle in the playoffs.
RIM SHOTS
* Portland's Juan Dixon has perhaps one of the NBA's smallest frames, at 6-foot-3, 164 pounds, but he has proven to be a consistent scorer as a starter for coach Nate McMillan.
* If Denver center Marcus Camby can stay healthy through the All-Star Game, he could be the starting center unless Houston's Yao Ming, the leading vote-getter, can return to play. And that's the way it should be.
* Peja Stojakovic said he felt disrespected upon learning about the trade to Indiana by seeing Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof on television. Stojakovic asked to be traded during the 2004 offseason. It didn't happen on his timetable, but he got what he wanted.
* There will be no bigger surprise if the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets slip into the playoffs. Led by rookie point guard Chris Paul, they moved into the eighth spot in the West after beating Memphis on Saturday night. The Hornets won 18 games last season but have won 21 this season, despite trading former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire to Milwaukee.
* An incredible number of injuries, combined with poor play, has left Houston tied with the worst record in the Western Conference. Some observers at the beginning of the season believed it had the best chance of defeating defending NBA champion San Antonio.
* So much for the value of preseason predictions. Many observers, such as this one, believed the Kings would win 50 games and the Pacific Division.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
NBA notebook: Stojakovic-for-Artest trade just part of a wild week
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 29, 2006
There likely have been more unusual and bizarre situations to occur during one week in the NBA, but this past one has to rank in the top two, maybe?
The Peja Stojakovic-Ron Artest trade between Sacramento and Indiana has to rank as one of the weirdest and most unusual deals in NBA history.
Rarely, if ever, have two guys who previously have requested to be traded seemed so reluctant to be dealt when the time came. Artest initially didn't want to come to Sacramento, and Stojakovic only a few days earlier said he'd like to play here his entire career.
Now, they both understand, or should, the significance of the saying, "Be careful what you wish for!"
The New York Knicks have spent the entire season attempting to right their ship. President Isiah Thomas has been taking hits for having the league's highest payroll and the Eastern Conference's fourth-worst record. The Knicks won their first six games of the new year and led some observers to believe new coach Larry Brown had gotten through to his squad.
Then the Knicks lost their next six games and took a hit off the court and in court when a sexual-harassment lawsuit was filed by former senior vice president Anucha Browne Sanders against Thomas and the team.
Moreover, Browne Sanders accused Thomas of attempting to add more Sunday afternoon games and then conspiring with hotel personnel in the city to encourage opposing players to go to certain bars and strip clubs.
There was the aftermath of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points, second only to the 100 points scored by Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks in Hershey, Pa., on March 2, 1962.
There were those who saw Bryant's performance as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and appreciated his accomplishment for what it was. It was a single-game performance that likely will not be achieved again and has been exceeded only once in the NBA's 50-plus-year existence.
Then there were those who believed the performance highlighted Bryant's perceived selfish approach to the game, despite the fact that his team trailed by 18 points in the third quarter and was led back by the swingman.
Some, such as New Jersey's Vince Carter, wondered if Bryant's performance was a poor example for young hoopers. Like it's going to even be an option for 1 percent of those hoopers to strive for such an abnormal point total. The only level on which Bryant's 81 has been approached or exceeded more than once is at the high school level. And that's one where there is more control by coaches than any. So any future opportunities to score in excess can be halted with quickness.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics basically traded Wally Szczerbiak for Ricky Davis with pieces added in to make the deal work and rearrange salaries for both teams.
They both can play shooting guard and small forward. Szczerbiak has more shooting range and accuracy, while Davis has improved as a shooter and is the better defender.
Pure Barkley
TNT commentator and future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was on the air discussing the trade and said, "Larry Bird is rolling over in his grave. The Celtics stink. I love (Boston executive director, basketball operations) Danny Ainge, but the Celtics stink."
Last we checked, Bird is alive and well and helping Donnie Walsh run the Indiana Pacers. Sure, we know what Barkley meant, but that statement is part of what makes his insanity hilarious - sometimes.
Rider in a storm
You could call him J.R. or you could call him Isaiah Rider, but what he usually ended up being called was talented and troubled.
The former 1993 first-round pick (No. 5 overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves was arrested Thursday for kidnapping a female acquaintance. Rider, 34, had the skill, talent and body to still be playing in the NBA, but he never could equip himself mentally to handle the league's lifestyle as a responsible adult.
Rider also played with Portland, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver before being waived in November of 2001 by the Nuggets.
Rider's ridiculous and uncontrollable behavior cost him untold millions of dollars and All-Star appearances. Despite his inability to avoid trouble, Rider nonetheless averaged 16.8 points per game.
One hungry forward
Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim had his jaw broken Dec. 26, with surgery and wires to support it shortly thereafter. He returned to action Jan. 19, but he's looking forward to soon having the wires removed and taking a trip for some legitimate grub.
"I've played sick before," he said, "but this is different because it's so hard to breathe.
"Yeah, I know what I want my first meal to be. I'm going to Morton's Steakhouse. That's the first thing I'm doing. But, you know, I can't eat a steak for another six weeks after (these wires) come out of my mouth."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBERS GAME
* Of the NBA's top 10 scorers, only Denver's Carmelo Anthony (eighth), Boston's Paul Pierce (ninth) and Milwaukee's Michael Redd (10th) weren't among them at the end of last season.
* Phoenix guard Raja Bell was 43 of 87 from three-point range in January before making 1 of 6 Friday night in a victory at Atlanta.
* Tim Duncan ended the 2004-05 season with the NBA title and was an All-NBA first-team selection. But he is below media sea level these days. His 20-point average ranks 22nd, and he is averaging 35.6 minutes per game - fewer than all of those who average more points.
* Take it to Philly - Wilt Chamberlain (100) and Kobe Bryant (81) have the highest-scoring games in NBA history, and both were born in the City of Brotherly Love.
* Bryant, Allen Iverson and LeBron James are the only players who entered Saturday night's action with more than 400 field goals made this season.
* Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Mihm has scored in double figures in 13 of the past 15 games through Friday night's action.
* Milwaukee won just 30 games last season but has won 22 this season to rank fifth in the East. If the season ended today, the Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers would be in the playoffs, replacing Boston and Chicago from last season.
* In the West, Utah, which won just 26 games last season, already has won 21 and would join the L.A. Clippers and Lakers in replacing the Kings, Houston and Seattle in the playoffs.
RIM SHOTS
* Portland's Juan Dixon has perhaps one of the NBA's smallest frames, at 6-foot-3, 164 pounds, but he has proven to be a consistent scorer as a starter for coach Nate McMillan.
* If Denver center Marcus Camby can stay healthy through the All-Star Game, he could be the starting center unless Houston's Yao Ming, the leading vote-getter, can return to play. And that's the way it should be.
* Peja Stojakovic said he felt disrespected upon learning about the trade to Indiana by seeing Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof on television. Stojakovic asked to be traded during the 2004 offseason. It didn't happen on his timetable, but he got what he wanted.
* There will be no bigger surprise if the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets slip into the playoffs. Led by rookie point guard Chris Paul, they moved into the eighth spot in the West after beating Memphis on Saturday night. The Hornets won 18 games last season but have won 21 this season, despite trading former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire to Milwaukee.
* An incredible number of injuries, combined with poor play, has left Houston tied with the worst record in the Western Conference. Some observers at the beginning of the season believed it had the best chance of defeating defending NBA champion San Antonio.
* So much for the value of preseason predictions. Many observers, such as this one, believed the Kings would win 50 games and the Pacific Division.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
