Free Agent Summit

LeBron James, left, starts a highlight reel dunk on Amare Stoudemire. Photo courtesy YouGotDunkedOn.com.

Last week, Dwyane Wade made noise by announcing he'd talk to fellow NBA free agents LeBron James and Joe Johnson before deciding where he wants to play ball next season. He forgot Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, and STAT is making sure it's known he wants an invitation. Should all five meet up for the so-called "free agent summit", it could shift the balance of power in the NBA. It's a given the New York area teams, the Nets and Knicks, will want to sign at least one of these five players. Doing so would start to bring the NY teams back towards contention again. Likewise, should any of these five players leave their respective franchises (Wade - Miami, James - Cleveland, Johnson - Atlanta, Bosh - Toronto, Stoudemire - Phoenix), these franchises would slide way down the contender scale.

From ESPN:
Last week, the NBA said Wade did not break any league tampering rules with his comments. Under league rules, players cannot tamper with other players, though it's a given that players talking among themselves not only happens, but is impossible to regulate. The NBA metes out discipline only in what it said are "the most egregious" cases, and said Wade's comments "do not meet that standard."

Which Way Phoenix?

Image courtesy The Arizona Republic/Getty Images.

This summer, Phoenix let its coach at the time, Mike D'Antoni, leave to coach the New York Knicks after D'Antoni and Suns GM Steve Kerr disagreed over the direction of the team. Kerr wanted more defense from the club, but D'Antoni ushered in the Suns' trademark "run-n-gun" style. D'Antoni built a system known as "7 Seconds or Less", an offense designed to take a shot at the basket within 7 seconds. This season, with new coach Terry Porter, shown above, and an emphasis on defense, the Suns aren't the same team and aren't nearly as fun to watch. This isn't to say I don't like to watch them, but rather defense-minded clubs are less fun to watch than offensive powers like Boston and, to an extent, the Lakers.


Image courtesy of the East Valley Tribune.

Recently, the Suns traded Raja Bell, a good defender and three-point shooter shown above, along with Boris Diaw to Charlotte for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley. Will this move make the team better? Perhaps, but this season is a transition year for the Suns and it's making a lot of fans in Planet Orange (the Suns' equivalent to Red Sox Nation) upset. With all the talent the Suns have (Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaq, and now Richardson), one wonders why they're only 15-10.

On a side note, I added a few links to the blog page recently. First up, I replaced Sean McAdam with Tony Massarotti (aka Mazz) of the Boston Globe. McAdam has since moved from Providence to the Boston Herald, but the Herald's website isn't the greatest to track columnists. Tony's a great baseball writer, a winner of multiple sports journalism awards and offers insight, especially with the Boston Red Sox. His columns are listed here. Next up is Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer for FOX Sports. Rosenthal is like Mazz, but on a wider, national scale. Ken's columns are here. Two other columnists were added as well: Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune and Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Both have received awards for their columns, especially Thiel, and are respected within their respective cities. Thiel's columns are here while Morrissey's are here. In addition to these, links to columns in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. are available on the main blog page.

Launch of My Blog & Kobe Demands a Trade

The big headline today is Kobe Bryant demanding a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, and with the demand, the soap opera continues. Kobe has the talent, that is unmistakable, but it has always been his attitude that has plagued him over the years. From demanding Shaq be traded and getting the max contract possible from the Lakers to demanding Jerry West come back, Kobe has always wanted his way. Though he has been more of a team player in recent years than previously, his drive to get his way has trumped other people, whether it be Shaq or Jerry Buss, the Laker owner. Up to this point in his career, what Kobe wanted, he received. Now, his desire to leave the Lakers and contend for a title elsewhere will leave fans feeling blue. This situation that Kobe put himself into is one that may define him further. If he gets traded, will he find the happiness he doesn’t feel right now in Los Angeles? If he wins a title elsewhere, what happens if his team doesn’t win the title the year after? Or the year after that? Kobe will once again be in the same situation, but a different team. Teams being rumored to have interest include Houston, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Phoenix. If I were Kobe, the rumored McGrady-for-Bryant swap doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. If Kobe stays put in LA, will he accept his role or be disgruntled and push and push for a trade until fans demand one as well? Will he embrace the concept of a team and embrace the team-first style of the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t count on that.