Points in the Paint

» June 18, 2009 5:35 PM | By Brandon Hoffman
  • Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:  “There was a snippet that the Rockets are shopping Tracy McGrady this week. The wording of that, however, is laughable. That’s like saying the producers of Law and Order are hoping to convince someone to put reruns of the show on cable television somewhere. The Rockets are not shopping McGrady; they are picking up the phone when it rings, and it rarely stops ringing. (Teams always say that, but in this unusual case, because of McGrady’s contract and the financial climate, it happens to be true.) Morey would not say much on the topic. ‘We’re not seeking to trade Tracy,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to look at everything. That’s my job.’”
  • Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic:  “In Cleveland, many are buying into the Shaq mythology. They should. He intimidates Dwight Howard, who is still a child between the ears. He will give them an interior presence the Cavaliers sorely need and the classic bully to guard LeBron’s interests. It will give O’Neal the platform to do two things he loves most: Beat down the Magic and the Master of Panic (his first employer and former coach Stan Van Gundy), and take the title away from Kobe. The Suns have significant leverage. O’Neal is relevant again, in shape and in the news. He made the All-NBA third team in 2008-09. There is pressure on the Cavaliers to do something big and bold, and many of their fans are now expecting O’Neal’s presence next season. In other words, Kerr better not screw this up. He better get a little more in return for O’Neal than he received in return for Shawn Marion.”
  • DraftExpress with a Jeremy Tyler update: “We’re told that Jeremy Tyler has officially signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli league. This is a move that is sure to bring owner Jeff Rozen and his team a great deal of attention over the next two years. Tyler’s camp balked at adding a third year onto the contract, preferring to have the flexibility of no NBA buyout whatsoever when he becomes draft-eligible in 2011. Tyler will reportedly make somewhere in the area of $200,000 next season.”
  • The Orange County Register’s Adam Townsend caught up with Kobe Bryant at Disneyland today:  “Bryant said that it’s ‘not really an option’ for the Lakers to lose forwards Trevor Ariza or Lamar Odom, two talented players who are now free agents. ‘The biggest thing for us would be to bring these guys back,’ he said. ‘We play so well together — we built this cohesive unit, an I think that’s what’s on everybody’s mind that the team comes back ready to go.’ Would he take less money to see Ariza and Odom stay on the team? ‘That’s not my responsibility, that’s the franchise’s responsibility to come to the table with things and have all the guys come back and make sure they get what they deserve,’ he said. Bryant said he plans to stay out of the gym and off the hardwood for about a month and a half.”
  • Charley Rosen compares Phil Jackson to Red Auerbach:  “It used to be Standard Operating Procedure for coaches to loudly and viciously curse and threaten refs with violence during games, with Auerbach universally conceded to be the worst offender. During Auerbach’s early days on the bench technical fouls cost a coach a mere $25. So when an enraged Auerbach would storm into the officials’ locker room after a loss and rudely challenge Sid Borgia to fisticuffs, he was only fined $25. Compare this to the $25,000 penalty Jackson has to pay for questioning the authenticity of referees’ calls during an in-game interview. Moreover, in Auerbach’s era the league considered refs to be little more than disposable hirelings, who were paid around $60 per game. Since no security guards were assigned to protect them from irate fans, refs routinely had to take off their belts and swing them so that the flashing buckles would discourage the frenzied courtside multitudes from physically attacking them as they sprinted to their postgame locker rooms. Jackson, of course, must show much more restraint in his attempts to intimidate refs — which is precisely why he’s forced to use the media to give voice to his complaints. The ability of a coach to motivate his players has also evolved since Auerbach sat in the command seat. Back then, no-cut contracts were extremely rare, and player salaries were very low. Bill Russell’s initial contract with the Celtics was for only $20,000. Because most players of that era were forced to get summer jobs if their teams failed to win championships, Auerbach could easily motivate them with reminders of dire offseason catastrophes.”
  • From Brendan Haywood’s blog:  “While I was watching Sports Center with some of the guys, we were all shocked to see the story about NFL player Donte’ Stallworth pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter and being sentenced to 30-days in jail and 1000 hours of community service. For me, this really hits home because my mother and I were hit by a drunk driver earlier this year. So let me get this straight, Michael Vick gets two years in jail for killing dogs and Stallworth gets only 30 days for killing someone? Now they say that justice is blind, but even Stevie Wonder can see that more than 30 days in jail was needed here. I think this was a terrible injustice. This is why so many people look at pro athletes with disgust and disdain. I was thoroughly disappointed.”

Category: Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, International Basketball, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA History, NBA Issues, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Points in the Paint, Washington Wizards

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