It’s Thursday, Feb. 7 – here’s what to watch the rest of the week
1. Trade Deadline Madness
Anthony Davis and his inner circle thought that he would own the headlines leading up to the deadline when he announced on Jan. 28 that he wouldn’t sign a contract extension with the Pelicans and wanted to be traded. Here’s what’s happened since then.
Jan. 31 – Dallas came in out of nowhere to ransack the Knicks, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke for Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and two first-round picks. New York is putting all of its eggs in the big-game-hunting basket, clearing up enough cap space for two max deals this offseason, while also gaining a promising young player in Smith and two quality draft picks. The Knicks will likely buy Matthews and/or Jordan out of their deals. As for the Mavericks, they’re quickly assembling a USSR all-star team, coupling Porzingis with rookie phenom Luka Doncic.
This deal’s already been ubiquitously analyzed since it went down, so I want to point out a few things that I felt slipped through the cracks. First, this is obviously a big risk for the New York Knicks because they have nothing even resembling a team culture or direction to sell to any free agents such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. All they can offer are the bright lights of the Big Apple, and lots and lots of money.
The Knicks think they’ll be able to do it. Vegas thinks they’ll be able to do it. But I don’t. Think about it – why would any of these guys head to the Knicks? New York has literally the worst record in the league since the 2001-02 season, and their disastrous upper management is well-documented. In that span, the Knicks have as many high-profile sexual harassment lawsuits as they do playoff series wins. And let’s not forget that when the Knicks actually are able to put a few stars together, the results are far from guaranteed. Remember the Carmelo-Chandler-Kidd-Stoudemire “super team?”
If the Knicks do manage to lure a big fish or two, those players are not going to sign a deal that doesn’t have annual opt-outs. Nobody wants to find themselves stuck in New York for five seasons, finishing out their prime years coming in tenth place in the East and watching Charles Oakley fight security guards while they’re trying to make free throws.
Second, do the Knicks actually expect the general public to fall for this timeline? They actually want us to believe that Porzingis expressed doubt about the Knicks’ direction on Thursday morning, and the team was able to put together a deal within hours? The reality is that this team has been waging public relations warfare on Porzingis and his family to help make this deal more palatable for the fanbase. The Knicks had been planning this deal for a while – perhaps as far back as when Porzingis stood up Phil Jackson at his exit meeting after the 2016-17 season. That had to at least get the team thinking. Reports are, the team also feared the influence of Kristaps’ brother, Janis, who was viewed as a trouble-maker within the organization. But yeah, totally came out of nowhere.
For the Mavericks, I think a nice surprise here might end up being Trey Burke. He’s never been able to put things together consistently, but he’s had some very promising flashes since coming into the league in 2013. He’s a guy capable of giving you 12 points and 5 assists off the bench, and though he’s only shooting 35 percent from three this year, he was shooting 44 percent as recently as two seasons ago.
Feb. 6 – In the wee hours of the morning, the Philadelphia 76ers pulled the trigger to bring in Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, two first-round picks, and two second-rounders. Philadelphia is officially going for it.
Harris should’ve been an all-star this season and gives the Sixers exactly what they need – a power forward who’s deadly from beyond the arc. Marjanovic, while an absolute statue on defense, is actually a historically efficient scorer on a per-minute basis – true story. No clue who Mike Scott is, but apparently one of his nicknames is “The Three-gional Manager,” which is awesome.
There’s also a bit of addition by subtraction for the Sixers here. To be frank, Muscala has been bad – he’s shooting only 34 percent from three and remains a defensive liability regardless of whether he’s at the 4 or the 5. And Wilson Chandler, while he had been playing better as of late, was also a consistent defensive liability, and had no business being in Philly’s starting lineup. It would’ve been nice to keep him and move him to the shorthanded bench, but his $12.8 million cap hit was key in making this deal happen.
However, they’re giving up more than it might seem. Landry Shamet has been the nicest surprise of the season, a rookie shooting over 40 percent from three for a team bereft of long-distance threats. And one of those two first-rounders is the famed Miami 2021 pick, which is now in possession of its fourth different owner. The pick is completely unprotected, and will come at a time when Miami will likely be in a lengthy rebuild.
I don’t expect that either of these two teams are finished making moves. The Clippers will continue shopping Danilo Gallinari in an attempt to free up a second max-contract slot, and the Sixers should be very active in the buyout market – this trade, while making Philly arguably the team to beat in the East, has taken an already poor bench from bad to worse.
If you want a full list of all the trades thus far, head here.
2. Return of LaVar (once again!)
Hopefully you read the above in the voice of Mark Morrison.
In prior seasons, back when LaVar was LaVar, he used to annoy the crap out of me. But it’s clear that coming into this season, he had a furtive site-down with the Lakers where Magic told him something like the following: LaVar, we have a damn good shot at getting LeBron. Doing so will take this team – and that includes your son – to new levels of fame and success. You’ve already pissed LeBron off pretty bad in the past, and you have to promise to keep your mouth shut for once if I’m gonna make this happen.
But I gotta be honest, I’ve kinda missed LaVar. And apparently, LaVar’s missed us. With the endless trade rumors swirling around about his son (and half the Lakers roster) being included in various iterative packages for Anthony Davis, LaVar finally surfaced for the first time this season. He didn’t disappoint.
He started out with a one-two punch of lobbying for a trade to the Suns while underhandedly trashing the majority of Lonzo’s current teammates – “He’s a better fit in Phoenix because they’ve got some young athletes. They’ve been losing and need a winning attitude.”
Then, he let everyone know just why the Lakers have been losing – “The Lakers gave my boy that losing attitude…when [Lonzo] got to the Lakers, Luke Walton was the worst coach ever for Lonzo because he had a losing mentality. He’s been losing for three years.”
Take us home with an empty threat, LaVar – “Do what you want to do. Like I told them before, if you trade my son it will be the worst thing you ever did for your franchise. I guarantee it.”
Why did I ever not like this guy? This stuff is fantastic. He gave this interview to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Doug and Wolf. He would’ve given this interview to anybody.
The Lakers are an absolute circus. Their GM was an agent a few years ago, and thought that having Lonzo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo, and JaVale McGee on the same team would bring much needed veteran leadership. Their president is an NBA legend turned failed coach turned studio analyst turned Dodgers part-owner. Their owner’s done shoots for PlayBoy. Their coach is more of a yoga-loving cheerleader than a tactician. Their fans still adore Pau Gasol more so than they do LeBron, and why he chose to come here is still beyond me.
My prediction is that the Lakers make no moves before the deadline. Luke Walton is fired within two weeks. The Lakers will probably still sneak into Western Conference playoffs and get railroaded by the Warriors. Might it be that the Clippers have a brighter future than the Lakers?
3. The Legend Isaiah Thomas!
Remember this guy? One year ago today, he was still a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since then, he’s had stints on the Lakers, Nuggets, and the operating table.
What better time to check in with the man than on his 30th birthday?
The story of Isaiah Thomas has been unfairly clouded over the past year and a half. Our last impression of him seems to be of the locker room turbulence he was a part of during his 170-day stay with the Cavs. Some of the unrest was his fault, some of it not.
But in the interim, while Isaiah hasn’t played in a game since March 22, I feel it’s necessary for me to step in here and make sure we all remember the real Isaiah Thomas who entered the NBA at 5 feet and 8 inches of pure determination.
Thomas came into the league in 2011 as the NBA’s version of “Mr. Irrelevant,” the flattering title bestowed upon the very last player selected in each year’s draft. Thomas had electrified the Pac-10 for three years at Washington, but scouts were understandably concerned about his defensive ceiling at 5-foot-8. He now found himself in Sacramento, the laughingstock of the league.
But while the Kings never quite figured out what to do with him during his three seasons there, the fans were absolutely enamored with him. After a promising rookie season averaging 11.5 points and 4 assists, Thomas was up to 20 points and 6 assists by his third and final season there. Even more importantly, while the Kings were going through the drama of their potential relocation, Thomas frequently showed up at City Council meetings to voice his support for the team and the fanbase remaining in Sacramento.
Still unconvinced of Thomas’ place on the court, the Kings executed a sign-and-trade with the Suns in the 2014 offseason. The Suns, in their infinite wisdom, had Thomas start a grand total of one game for them during his 46-game stint, and then traded him to Boston before he had even completed a full season in Phoenix. In fairness, the main reason behind the trade was Thomas’ discontent with the Suns, who had three legitimate points guards vying to run the offense. But on the other hand, what was Phoenix expecting when they created the logjam? Goran Dragic also asked to be traded from that team for the same reason – because the Suns had a foolish offensive system that had at least two of their three point guards on the court at a given time. And yet, you don’t hear anyone trash Dragic’s character (his production is a different story).
As we all know, Thomas finally blossomed into a one of the NBA’s top offensive threats in Boston, where he made two all-star teams and was second-team All-NBA in 2017, a season that saw him average 29 points and 6 assists. Once again, a fan base fell in love with him, a love that was further cemented after Thomas’ famed playoff heroics.
After learning that his sister had died in a car accident, Thomas took the court the very next day to open up a playoff series against the Bulls, a series that the Celtic eventually won 4-2. The next round saw Thomas turning in a 53-point performance in Game 2 as the Celtics beat the Wizards in seven games – Isaiah had 29 points and 12 assists in the clincher. He gritted it out for two more games in the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavs, but his infamous hip injury eventually became too severe for him to continue.
Ah yes, the hip injury. Hip injuries are arguably the worst possible injury for any athlete, and are more difficult to come back from than any other. Celtics GM Danny Ainge knew this – and knew Thomas’ defensive limitations – and dealt the postseason hero in the offseason to Cleveland as part of the Kyrie Irving package.
At first, Thomas and the Celtics fans were heartbroken and irate. The fans quickly got over it when they realized how good of a trade it was. Isaiah did not.
The rest of the story is well-documented – Thomas didn’t make his Cavs debut until January 2018, and it took only fifteen games for him to be dealt away again. Reports surfaced that Thomas was making a scene in the locker room and was critical of his teammates and head coach. Again, Thomas wasn’t the only one, but again, Thomas was singled out. He played a few games for the Lakers before shutting it down in March 2018 to have hip surgery. The same hip surgery he put off so he could keep fighting for the Celtics.
Recently, we’ve seen images of Thomas warming up on the sidelines in Denver. Who knows when he’ll be back. But while we’re waiting for his next chapter to begin, let’s make sure we remember all the pages in the book, not just the most recent ones.
4. NBA All-Academic Team
Let me preface this article – I am well aware of the fact that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between education and intelligence. Smart is smart, and schooling only does so much if you’re an idiot. LeBron James is unanimously regarded as the smartest basketball mind among active players, and he never so much as set foot in a college dorm room. Steve Jobs famously dropped out of Reed College.
But I got to thinking – in the era of the college one-and-done, what’s the best team of current NBA players that you could possibly put together, consisting entirely of players with a college diploma?
PG – Jeremy Lin
Graduated from Harvard in 2010 with a degree in economics
Lin’s been doubted his entire life. After receiving no athletic scholarship offers, he attended Harvard. After going undrafted in 2010, he had to attend tryouts and play in Summer League games. Things haven’t been great for him of late either, as he’s been shuffling between team and rehabbing various injuries. But if all else fails, hey, the man went to Harvard.
SG – Victor Oladipo
Graduated from Indiana in 2013 with a degree in sports communications
The highest-drafted man on this list at second overall in 2013, Oladipo has continued to get better and better. Hopefully he comes back strong as ever from his ruptured quad. It seems like he put his degree to great use, effectively communicating to the team’s bench that he had just torn his $#@!ing quad.
SF – Jimmy Butler
Graduated from Marquette in 2014 with a degree in communications
Though Butler was drafted by the Bulls in 2011, he returned to Marquette and earned his degree in 2014. He majored in communications and minored in critical outbursts.
PF – Kelly Olynyk
Graduated from Gonzaga in 2013 with a degree in accounting
Miami’s wildly ugly power forward was an Academic All-American at Gonzaga. It’s a good thing that he chose basketball, because nobody would ever hire a seven-foot bridge troll to do their taxes.
C – Mason Plumlee
Graduated from Duke in 2013 with a degree in both psychology and cultural anthropology
Another Academic All-American, Plumlee double majored at Duke and still found time to win a National Championship. He was also a finalist for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award, whatever that is.
Needless to say, this team wouldn’t be very good. But you still gotta respect the hustle.
5. Did You Know?
Ron Artest has had some downright hilarious incidents over the years, so why do we always focus on the bad ones? Here are some gems from early in his career.
- Summer 1999 – Coming into his rookie season, Artest applies for a part-time job at the local Circuit City. He was looking for an employee discount, but the Bulls step in and don’t allow him to take the job.
- Fall 1999 – Artest is fined and sent home from the league’s rookie orientation summit. Artest overslept, missed a meeting, and was also caught with female visitors in his room.
- Summer 2001 – Artest breaks two of Michael Jordan’s ribs during a pickup game. “I read it in the paper and was like, ‘Man, Mike’s ribs got broke. How’d his ribs get broke?’”
- Winter 2003 – Artest is suspended for one game by the Pacers for smashing a framed picture of himself
- Winter 2004 – In his first All-Star game appearance, Artest changes – and purposely mismatches – his shoes throughout the game, in the hopes of attracting a shoe deal.
- Fall 2004 – Artest is benched for two games after he asks the Pacers for time off to promote the release of his coming rap album.
- Fall 2005 – Nearly a year after the infamous “Malace in the Palace,” Artest appears on the cover of Penthouse magazine and says that he wants to box Ben Wallace on pay-per-view television.
