Points in the Paint

» February 11, 2009 9:30 PM | By Brandon Hoffman
  • There have been 31 John Wooden Award Winners. Only two former Wooden Award Winners have failed to play at least three seasons in the NBA. Former Duke Blue Devil Jason Williams won the award in 2002, but had his career cut short due to a tragic motorcycle accident. Ed O’Bannon won the award in 1995 after leading the UCLA Bruins to the National Championship. O’Bannon played two years with the New Jersey Nets and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 boards per game before being traded and released by the Orlando Magic. What’s O’Bannon up to these days? Ed is a promotions manager for Findlay, a family-owned collection of dealerships in Henderson, Nev.
  • John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Once the Suns move Stoudemire, they’ll still have Steve Nash, 35, and Grant Hill and Shaquille O’Neal, both 36; obviously, the rebuilding would still have a ways to go. Of course, there might be political considerations here, too. From a basketball perspective, the obvious player to move is Nash, who is still effective, has a reasonable salary and likely would produce some fairly compelling offers; doing that would allow Phoenix to rebuild around Stoudemire, Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa. But this is also the time of year when season-ticket renewals are in full swing, and I would surmise there’s a legitimate and completely rational fear that fans would stay away in droves if the team’s most popular and watchable player were no longer around. The next best move would be to deal Shaq, but his $20 million salary next year makes him nearly unmovable; even with his increased production this year, it’s doubtful any team is going to offer such a massive haul of expiring contracts to get 60 games of Shaq. Which gets us back to my main point — the Shaq trade is essentially going to cost the team Amare Stoudemire.” I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’d add that the Lakers and then Heat would have lost Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade if they had kept Shaquille O’Neal.
  • Darren Rovell of CNBC.com:  “Almost 90 percent of Chinese people age 15 to 54 are aware of the NBA. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 30,000 locations in China alone, with sales expected to grow 60 percent this year and 70 percent next year.” (Via Nate Jones)
  • Jason Friedman of Rockets.com and Shane Battier discuss The Alchemist: “It’s so easy to get bogged down in the doom and gloom of a particularly discouraging defeat so, contrarian that I am, I wanted to hang my hat on something positive knowing full well Battier wouldn’t disappoint in that regard. As a conversation starter of sorts, I brought up the book I’d sent his way a while back. True to form, Shane took over from there. ‘I actually think The Alchemist is an apt metaphor for this team because the shepherd started out thinking he was all set, but life threw him a curveball and he quickly found out things don’t always go according to plan or according to your strengths.’” The Alchemist is one of my favorite books. It’s centered around the notion that we all have a purpose or “personal legend” in life. I hope there’s a part II to this discussion. I’d love to know how Battier — one of the more cerebral players in the league — correlates The Alchemist to this year’s Rockets squad. Is Ron-Ron the alchemist?
  • Derek Fisher compares Jerry Sloan to Phil Jackson:  “”If you know Jerry, I don’t know if winning a championship is really his dream like that,” Fisher said. “He loves the game, loves teaching and coaching the game. I don’t know if winning a title, if he loses sleep over that part of it. Maybe that’s where the contrast is between Phil and Jerry. Where I think Phil — in my opinion rightfully so — obsesses over being a champion. Jerry may, but if you ask him, I don’t think he would tell you that. He just enjoys basketball, being around the game, teaching young guys.” Jackson’s competitiveness is continually overlooked because of his laissez-faire demeanor. But as I’ve written previously, don’t let Jackson’s courtside demeanor fool you. Phil wants to win as much as anyone.
  • If you could pick one player to build a team around, who would you select? LeBron James is the obvious choice. Although the Orlando Sentinel polled readers a few weeks ago and Dwight Howard was their top vote getter. Howard is a worthy candidate, but the voters who chose Howard over James need to have their heads examined. Mike Freeman and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com decided to leave LeBron out of the discussion and narrowed their choices down to Howard and Chris Paul. Freeman took Howard. Berger chose Paul. Here’s Berger’s reasoning: “Let’s not forget that Duncan had one ring when the Spurs got Tony Parker. Duncan has won three since. And whose name comes first when you say Stockton and Malone? Have we already forgotten that the best player on the planet before Jordan came along was Magic Johnson? There’s nothing wrong with a great big man, but we’re in the early stages of a guard renaissance in the NBA. The rules have gradually become more favorable to perimeter players; much like the NFL, which basically no longer lets defensive backs touch receivers, the NBA has realized the stylistic benefits of creative guard play. The toughest position on the floor to fill with a championship-caliber talent is point guard, and look at the collection of brilliant ones we have: Paul, Parker, Deron Williams, Devin Harris and Rajon Rondo — plus wily veterans named Jason Kidd, Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups, not to mention up-and-comers Derrick Rose, Rodney Stuckey, Jameer Nelson and Russell Westbrook. Freeman can have his muscle-head in the Superman cape. I’ll take the guy who makes the engine go.” I agree. I love Howard’s fun-loving personality, but I don’t think he’s serious enough about his profession. I watched Dwight work out before playing the Denver Nuggets last month and it was half workout half comedy show. CP3 is a stone cold assassin. I’ll be shocked if Paul hangs it up without a ring or two.
  • SLAM has entered the podcast game. Their first guests are David Stern and Stephon Marbury. How’s that for an entrance? Lang Whitaker’s conversation with Stern is a must-listen.

Category: Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Points in the Paint, Utah Jazz

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