Offseason Activity

I'm breaking my silence a little to drop a few lines on offseason drama. There won't be too much of this kind of thing on my blog once my special project ramps up in October, but one of my friends is looking for something to read, so he's nudged me into posting this. As always, I'd love to have you make your own comments in response to what I have to say.

First, here's some things that haven't happened...yet.

Miami trades...

As of this writing, Miami hasn't done a thing to bring in any real help. They got Beasley in the draft (unproven, immature?), brought in Magloire (washed up, inflated ego?), and resigned Quinn (pretty much a bench guy), but everyone has expected them to make a deal that has yet to materialize. With Beasley, Marion, Haslem, and Dorell Wright all apparently having some value as trade pieces, Miami has done surprisingly little to improve at point guard and center. My guess is that Riley wants to see this team perform, and see if his guys will step up where needed. I think also he's eager to see what kind of rapport the players develop with Spoelstra in his new role as head coach. Once we're a few months in, Riley can re-examine the Heat's assets and liabilities, gauge the likelihood of a contribution from Alonzo Mourning, and capitalize on other teams' dissapointing starts.

Ben Gordon plays for...

Ben Gordon is in a terrible spot. It's called "Chicago." Ben wants money that the Bulls don't want to spend, and they seem perfectly willing to say "Alright, Ben. I guess we'll catch you later" because they know he's not worth as much as he wants, they know no other team can pay him what he wants, and they totally caught his agent bluffing on the whole playing-in-Russia thing. That team is in bad shape. They absolutely fell apart last year, they have poor team chemistry, and they're going to be working with a brand-new coach. There's also a young new guard in town who comes with the pressure of being the number one draft pick. It's going to be absolutely crucial, I think, for the coach to connect with the young guys in a way that Skiles couldn't. He has to inject a stronger sense of team into the Bulls or they're going to continue sucking. Gordon needs to decide if he wants to be a part of their rejuvenation, and if so he needs to accept less money and dedicate himself to being a positive component. If he can't make that choice, I think the Bulls would be happy to decide to leave him waiting at the curb.

Remember that lousy GM?

Now that the Isaiah era is over in New York, Walsh and D'Antoni are going to be trying like hell to fix his mistakes. Marbury is problem number one, Z-Bo is problem number two. Here's the thing with Randolph: the only reason he made it to New York was because Isaiah didn't have the sense to say no. Portland had a young team with a lot of promise, Randolph was locker room cancer, and they decided to get that guy the hell away fom the young, good players that they had assembled. Everyone knew Randolph was trouble, but Isaiah didn't care. I don't think Portland could have unloaded his issues on anyone else. True, they had to take Steve Francis, but they just bought out his trouble-making ass for a lot less than they would have paid to waive Randolph and the Blazers got Channing Frye out of it! I think that Donnie Walsh sees himself in a situation similar to Portland's when they dumped Zach. I think that he would prefer to get rid of Marbury and Randolph both and never think of them again. I'm sure, though, that he doesn't want to spend money to get rid of them knowing that another GM will pick them up at a bargain rate and he'll have nothing to show for it. The Knicks are going to have to find a way to convince some team that the risk is worth it, and that means playing these guys. Regardless of how they produce, though, the Knicks aren't going to keep either player any longer than they have to.

I'll throw some more opinions out in a few days. Talk to you soon.