The big network has already raised the question and shot it down without much debate. Can Derrick Rose repeat as the league MVP in the new season after the lockout? Can the kid become the third point guard to do it? How? News flash – He earned the 2010-2011 MVP when everyone wrote him off. You guys are writing him off again? I get it. The 2011 playoffs were bad for him during the fourth quarter. He didn’t choke. Rose just did not shoot well.
Read parts one, two and three of this series here. In ranking these champions, I want to completely exclude their overall skill as basketball players, and focus solely on their ability to dunk the basketball. Also, I think era in which they were dunking in is very significant, as is height. With those parameters laid out, let me throw the second five names at you, in no particular order. Of these five, I will rank them by reader comments via Hoopsvibe.com, Facebook and private emails.
The Hawks say Al Horford will miss 3-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle suffered during last night’s 96-84 loss at Indiana.. Horford is to get a second opinion on whether to proceed with the surgery. Under the most most optimistic time frame, Horford would return in mid-April. Atlanta’s final regular-season game is scheduled for April 26.
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Whatever slim shot the Atlanta Hawks had at acquiring Dwight Howard is likely gone.
After all, the Hawks were reportedly offering Al Horford and Joe Johnson to the Magic in exchange for Howard. Horford's injured pectoral muscle complicates things.
Of course, Howard, an Atlanta native, wouldn't sign an extension with the Hawks, as he prefers a bigger market to land lucrative sponsors and transition into the entertainment industry.
Think Los Angeles. Think New York. Maybe Dallas, if owner Mark Cuban works his magic. Not Atlanta, especially with Horford on the injured list for an extended period.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
It’s not a mass exodus although notable players are taking off to become international ballers. As this is happening, some fans were saying that the NBA is in better shape than the NFL. Uh how so? Are you oblivious? The NFL is about to reach an agreement to end the lockout. Where is the NBA? I’m not even sure if they are even negotiating right now. The players and owners are too far apart. There are some owners against owners. As a result, the players are leaving.
The stretch 4 business is serious business. Basketball purists have been complaining about the lack of quality at the center position for years now. They’re right. Look further down – the power forward position has also evolved in to this stretch 4 trend. What is a stretch 4, you ask? He’s a tall guy, usually 6-9 or taller, and plays from the perimeter. He barely posts up preferring to shoot instead of being a bruiser.
He told Yahoo! Sports he thinks there’s a “100 percent” chance the Magic won’t trade him before the Feb. 26 All-Star Game at the team’s Amway Center. Team officials still hope to convince Howard to commit to staying with the franchise for the long term. “I don’t think they are going to do anything right now because we’re winning,” Howard said after a 104-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings improved the Magic’s record to 6-3. “Even if this is the last season, let’s go out hard, regardless.”
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Dwight Howard's status with the Orlando Magic seems to change daily.
Howard now thinks he'll stay with the Magic through the All-Star break, despite executive Otis Smith telling reporters that the star hasn't rescinded his trade demand.
So things are in flux.
Usually these types of distractions are a recipe for disaster, however, the Magic have opened the season at 6-3. The more they win, the longer Howard stays.
This isn't a long-term solution, as the giant can opt-out of his contract at year's end and become a free agent.
Howard only signs an extension with the Magic if Smith pulls off the impossible and acquires Deron Williams from the New Jersey Nets.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
Local 6 Sports Director David Pingalore has learned that Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard may be rethinking his trade request. In December, Howard told the Magic he would want to be traded to either the New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks or Los Angeles Lakers.Multiple NBA sources confirmed to Pingalore that Howard has been heavily recruiting New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams to play with him in Orlando. Pingalore has also learned the Magic are trying to trade for Williams. Pingalore's sources confirmed that Howard would rather stay in Orlando, and the sources said that it's an "80 percent" chance Howard stays. HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Will he stay? Will he go?
The Dwight Howard merry-go-round has again taken another turn, as the All-Star post is reconsidering his trade request and may sign a long-term extension with the Orlando Magic.
Forget the rumors involving the Lakers and Andrew Bynum and/or Pau Gasol.
Forget the gossip about the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets.
And forget the speculation about Howard’s rift with Magic executive Otis Smith.
In the end, it may not matter because the former Slam Dunk champion is seriously considering staying in Orlando.
There’s a catch: Howard wants Deron Williams to join him. The muscular table-setter is unhappy with the Nets and, like Howard, can become a free agent in July.
This is a surprise. Most of us knew Howard and Williams had interest in partnering up, however, we assumed it would happen in a major market like Brooklyn, not Orlando.
After all, Brooklyn would allow both superstars to maximize marketing and business opportunities in New York, while Orlando is a smaller city tucked away in Florida.
So, Howard’s future remains up in the air. And the debate over whether he stays or goes will continue for some time.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
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The time is here to be liberated from the NBA shackles. Some of us were waiting in anticipation to the excitement that the lockout brings. When July 1, 2011 arrived at midnight, did you have a party just like New Year’s Eve? Of course not. Shit was depressing. Countless hours of watching pro basketball might be eliminated when November rolls around. No free agency during the summer. No trades. No rookie summer league. Nothing. If you’re not a fan of Major League Baseball or any other sport then meh.
We are back to what the NBA was when Michael Jordan retired for the first time in 1993. There is no true ultimate dominator in this league who is head and shoulders above everyone. Remember that time? Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Shaq, Kidd, Miller, Barkley, Richmond, Pippen, Payton, and more became prominent when Jordan left. As of 2011, there is no one head and shoulders above anyone. We can make arguments for a few select, but they each have flaws whether it’s getting old, shrinking up, or whatever.
It’s been a tough ride for Kobe Bryant and Laker Nation in 2011. They were dominated in the 2nd round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, Phil Jackson retired, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar disrespected, and Kobe looked old. Just going by numbers, the Black Mamba is not a top 5 fantasy player. Take notice that he is not being picked number one overall in many drafts. The trend picked up beginning in 2008 when Chris Paul and LeBron James started to take over.
Laker haters unite! This is your time. Hate hate hate hate! Did anyone peep Sugar Shane Mosley’s wife during the Pacquiao fight? Johnny Gill’s song was all I heard in my mind “My My My You sure look good tonight.” She sure was. Her name is Bella Gonzalez. She was screaming passionately at Sugar Shane to fight. I know Laker fans were screaming at the Lakers to fight just like her. Oy dios mios! I still haven’t gotten over the sight of her. Wow!
Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls have been eliminated from the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals at the hands of the Wade/LeBron-Bosh Miami Heat, 4-1. Chi-Town is fighting through some pain right now, but there shouldn’t be any. At the beginning of the season, there were not many people on the Bulls’ bandwagon. The hype grew as the wins piled up. The bandwagon grew yet many were not convinced. Rose won MVP and that’s when all hell broke loose. Tom Thibodeau received Coach of the Year. Beating Indiana and Atlanta were good. However, facing Miami caused the bandwagon to break. People keep saying that getting an upgrade at the shooting guard position over Keith Bogans is all that is needed to get the Bulls over the top to win it all.
Atlanta engaged Orlando in Dwight Howard trade talks this month, as well as the notion that the Magic would surely want Horford as part of any swap if the talks ever go anywhere. "Wow," Horford said. "I guess I'm heading back to Florida. ... I don't know, that's interesting, I know that Dwight is from here, but as far as I know, this is the first I've heard of it. But it'll be interesting."
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Dwight Howard isn't getting traded to the Atlanta Hawks because Dwight Howard won't re-sign with the Atlanta Hawks.
Howard, who can opt-out of his contract in July of 2012 with the Orlando Magic and become a free agent, wants to play in a major market.
Think New York, specifically Brooklyn. Think Los Angeles. Maybe Dallas.
For a couple of reasons, Atlanta, despite being Howard's hometown, doesn't stand a chance at getting the world`s top center to sign an extension.
1) The Hawks`owners, the LLC Spirit group, are highly dysfunctional. They once sued each other. They gave away a professional hockey team. And, most importantly, they won`t spend on a winner. Sure, they`ll float a few big-tickets, but they lack the resources and market size to underwrite a championship contender. And Howard knows this.
2) Atlanta won`t provide Howard with opportunities to leverage his brand. For instance, he wants a career in entertainment, and New York and Los Angeles are the best places for this to occur.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
Yes, you read that correctly. Right now, it is time to leave the Orlando Magic organization. I know Mickey Mouse and the Funky Bunch are hurting right now and this one will send them over the edge, but lettuce be cereal. The current roster is terrible. The team regressed after the 2009 Finals. No regrets, no remorse. General Otis Smith had plenty of time to build a quality roster. He actually did that yet somehow messed everything up.
Derrick Rose is officially the youngest NBA MVP for anyone living in a cave kicking it with John Rambo. He earned it at 22 years old. Leading the team to the number one record is a tall order for anyone. The 2010-2011 season is historic mainly because of this. Basketball fans witnessed something amazing that we will not see again from any 22 year old NBA player. It was fun to see all of the games on DirecTV. Chicago’s offense and the opposing team’s defensive game plans truly revolved around the Poohdini of the Hardwood.
Are you stuck on a computer all day trying to look up Dwight Howard’s defensive impact numbers to justify his superiority over Derrick Rose for the 2011 MVP award or looking for pictures of Osama Bin Laden's dead corpse? Step up right in here, slim. No, I do not have any pictures of Osama, but I’m letting you know Derrick Rose got the MVP trophy locked up. What about next season? Let’s break down D-12 step by step right now to see if he has a good chance to win the coveted title in upcoming seasons. This is going to be a fun ride.
Sources told ESPN.com that the aforementioned Hawks, meanwhile, engaged Orlando in trade talks for Howard earlier this month with an offer believed to be headlined by $124 million guard Joe Johnson and swingman Josh Smith. You have to figure that the Magic, though, would insist on Al Horford if such discussions ever got serious.
Link
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Rebuilding isn’t an option for the Orlando Magic, so they’re reluctant to trade franchise face Dwight Howard for prospects, draft picks, and expiring contracts.
The powers that be in Orlando want established professionals -like, say, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks.
This is interesting, as both are big-ticket pieces, especially Johnson who is due to earn $107 million over the next five years. Smith is due $25.5 million through 2013.
Here’s the question: is Johnson and Smith superior to the Lakers reported offer of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol?
--Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
It’s that time again for the regular season end awards just like any other television sports show. It is time to pass out the awards. Rather than giving awards for the usual categories such as Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year….you get the picture…..let’s focus on categories that truly need to be highlighted – categories that I make up! Who cares about those other official awards anyway? They’re already locked up.
This is the most ridiculous thing I heard coming out from these arguments. Discrediting Derrick Rose is one thing, but to completely dismiss the award just because people do not agree with your assessments is another. This is flat out stupid. Why did people pick out this year to bring this up again? This was echoed with Steve Nash’s awards and probably with Allen Iverson’s. Is this what it has come down to?
“We need some more pieces,” he said. “There’s no secret about that. There’s not many starters on our team right now. We have a lot of great role players, a lot of guys who know their job, but in this league you need some top-tier guys so you can get the job done.”
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Deron Williams has leverage over the New Jersey Nets and isn’t afraid to use it.
Williams, a top point guard who can opt-out of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, will only re-sign with the Nets if they supply him with 'top-tier guys'.
Translation: he wants Dwight Howard, the NBA’s best center.
(Howard is in a similar predicament with the Orlando Magic. He too can opt-out of his contract this summer and walk on the Magic as an unrestricted free agent. And he also wants a superstar teammate.)
Howard reportedly has interest in joining a Williams led Nets squad, especially since they’re leaving the marshy swamps of Jersey for the borough of Brooklyn.
Howard, a magnanimous personality, loves the lights, stars, and marketing opportunities available in The Big Apple.
So, on paper, it all works. Williams is simply providing the Nets will a little urgency to make it happen.
He might as well. After all, he has leverage.
--Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
[Update: We have a high-quality video of Royce's little dance routine at this link here, and you can see the reaction of the other basketball wives in the clip here.]
There's not much more to this particular story than the title and the video below. There is, however, a lot more to the ongoing saga between Dwight Howard and Royce Reed, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son Braylon Howard. Not only did Howard sue her for $9.2 million for defamatory comments she supposedly posted online while violated a gag order, but he followed that up with another lawsuit when Reed posted this picture of herself and her son on Twitter:
Well, if D12 and his legal team could find any legal justification for it, I'm sure this would be grounds for lawsuit number three. As it is, the video of Royce Reed dancing like a woman possessed at a Super Bowl party attended by Ludacris and Terrell Owens will be just another source of embarrassment for Dwight Howard as he cultivates the squeaky-clean image that has helped him close numerous endorsement deals. Perhaps the worst part of the clip comes when Ludacris announces that the two ladies (Reed was dancing with another young woman) will be winning two tickets each to a game between the Clippers and Kings. Yeah.
Royce Reed had this to say shortly after the clip hit the web:
It's worth noting that Reed's tweets were set to private not long after that post was made. You can draw your own conclusions as to why that happened, but first check out the clip below to see Royce Reed in action.
This is scary for the Orlando Magic organization. Some diehard Magic fans are already discussing this. Don’t write this off by saying, “No. He’s not going anywhere.” General manager Otis Smith has made bad moves leading the team to regress. This does not look good. The trade at the deadline was desperation, wasn’t it? I have to pull a John Lennon and try to imagine a scenario where Howard leaves. As I thought about it, the chances of this actually happening increased. Wow.
I thought I was done talking about Derrick Rose’s MVP candidacy. No, really. I thought I was finished. I can’t wait until the ordeal is over. I explored why people truly despise the kid as one of the best in this article noting that. I understand the hate even when the reasons are illogical. People have to start giving the kid his earned props. He doesn’t deserve it. Instead, Rose earned it. He is showing us that hard work pays off.
"I don't understand the thinking that we need saving as a franchise," Buss says. "We have three All-Stars, and we need saving?" There's an Internet report suggesting Orlando was willing to trade Howard for Bynum and Pau Gasol, but now he's shaking his head as if in pain."Where does this stuff come from?" he says. "You'd have to be kind of silly to give up two All-Stars like that for Howard. Zero truth to it. We have never been asked for Andrew and Pau and we've never offered them. I think they know we'd either say no or they would sound crazy for asking."
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Publicly, Jim Buss has to downplay the Los Angeles Lakers’ interest in Orlando Magic post Dwight Howard.
Privately, the owner’s son should know the team that gets the best player wins the trade, so Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak must be open swapping Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol for Howard.
Here’s the complication: the Lakers are a fractured bunch, as most things in the world of purple-and-gold is political.
Like Bynum. For instance, Jim Buss is reluctant to trade, or even criticize, Bynum because he likes to take credit for drafting and developing the seven-foot center.
And the better Bynum plays, the more Buss can justify his role as a basketball executive within the organization.
Instead of trading Bynum, Buss has empowered him, hiring a coach, Mike Brown, who will feature his skills, and even declaring him Kobe Bryant’s equal.
So Buss' agenda and Laker politics could complicate doing what is right: swapping Bynum and Gasol for Howard.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
What’s going on? Derrick Rose is not officially anointed as the 2010-2011 NBA MVP, but people are coming out from the woodwork to get vocal. They banded together to try to prevent him from getting the award. It just seems that way, which is hilarious. I do not know what the huge deal is. What is the problem? A lot of people are up in arms about this. I have to figure this out. Writers and basketball purists are getting emotional over this. I have to explore the reasoning behind the hate.
I come in peace, but I’ll talk about this. This has to be addressed. Welcome to LeBron’s new nightmare. The Miami Heat is getting $hi#$ed on by the full media blitz. It’s not over. It’s never going to be over with the public onslaught. There is more to come, but no one has mentioned this particular item. I write this with full sincerity - LBJ will not win MVP ever again. This is a bold claim, but there are many reasons to see why.
Dwight Howard may have come under fire lately for his inconsistent production, but the former Sprite Slam Dunk champion obviously hasn't lost his sense of humour. Prompted by Ernie Johnson, D12 happily breaks out his Charles Barkley impersonation to the amusement of the TNT crew. Check out the clip below and let us know if you think Dwight Howard's Charles Barkley impersonation hit the target or if, like Howard's face-up game, it needs a little work.
Here are the final five studs. You have to pick one because this list will not change. Take one, only one, and roll with him all the way to the finish line. Let’s hope that the MVP race is not effed up like LeBron’s Decision over the summer where insiders knew he was going to Miami all along. Game by game analysis is a horrible way to determine this. People should do a bi-weekly thing. One game at a time causes too much overreaction. Let the games add up, okay?
Source confirms that Andrei Kirilenko is on his way to leave CSKA Moscow and join New Jersey Nets where he will sign a multi-year deal.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: He’s back from the motherland. And will play for the NBA's version of the motherland.
Word is the New Jersey Nets, who are owned by Russia’s richest man and presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, have signed Andrei Kirilenko, Russia’s best basketball player, to a multi-year contract.
This is hardly a surprise. During the lockout, Kirilenko played for CSKA Moscow, a Russian club side owned by (surprise, surprise) Prokhorov.
Here’s the question: how much?
As in how much cap space did the Nets use. Remember, the soon-to-be Brooklyn franchise must save cap space to trade for Orlando Magic post Dwight Howard, which may also mean taking the remaining years of Hedo Turkoglu’s toxic pact.
So today the Nets are better after signing Kirilenko. However, it’s the next move everyone is watching.
--Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
The newly minted 2011 All Star game MVP worked his way to be the star of stars. 37 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 steals are great numbers. Props to Kobe. It is back to business since All Star weekend is over. Where is Kobe in the league MVP race? Remember, this isn’t the legacy award like the All Star spots. Everyone has to put in serious work. That includes Bryant who is usually penciled in before the season started. Every great player's time fades away, too. It sucks, but that's life.
During the player introductions Saturday, Howard received a standing ovation. He said that moment was special for him.
“It was emotional,” he said. “It was great to see their reaction. And like I’ve told you guys from day one, I love this city. … When I came here, everybody called our team the Orlando Tragic. I wanted to change it. Nobody says tragic anymore.”
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Perhaps there is hope.
Perhaps the fan support will influence Dwight Howard to rescind his trade demand, avoid opting-out of his contract next July, and sign a long-term extension with the Orlando Magic.
Such a scenario is unlikely.
Howard wants a larger market, superstar teammates, and a chance at winning a championship each year.
This means he must take flight for one of the NBA’s major markets. Think Los Angeles, but only if the Lakers give up Andrew Bynum, the golden boy in the organization. Think New Jersey, but only if the Nets re-sign point guard Deron Williams. Think Dallas, but only if the Mavericks can clear the necessary cap space.
Yesterday was positive. So there is hope for Orlando fans. Just not much of it.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
There has been plenty of noise about this guy in Orlando. People across the Internet, who truly believe that they know more than the guys who actually write for the big leagues, claim that Howard should be the league MVP. He certainly has a case, but I’m not convinced that he is a front runner. This is his best chance yet to get one. The Magic recently had huge trades to improve the team. Will that be used against him when they cast their vote?
A team still needs a good quality big to win a title unless you’re Michael Jordan. They’re a hard commodity to come by. Consider nabbing these towers of power. Hold them ransom for trades. There are not many good big men left in today’s era so their value is twice as high. Will we ever see a Hakeem Olajuwon type center ever again? If you do, take him no matter what over the point guards. Stats as of December 3, 2010.
The Lakers have pulled out of Chris Paul trade talks and will trade Lamar Odom to the Mavericks for a traded player exception that was acquired for Tyson Chandler.Dallas will send unspecified draft considerations to the Lakers. "The Lakers are shifting toward trying to make a Dwight Howard deal."
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: We have closure on this saga. For now.
The Los Angeles Lakers have officially pulled out of the Chris Paul sweepstakes, and will instead focus on acquiring Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic.
Perhaps the cost was too high. Perhaps dealing with NBA head office, who own the New Orleans Hornets, was too complicated. Or, perhaps they just prefer Howard.
Bottom line: the purple-and-gold have declared their intention to pursue Howard. And they usually get they want.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
The marriage between the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard, for all intents and purposes, is now basically over. Just a matter of where the big man ends up. Reports SI: “Dwight Howard’s agent, Dan Fegan, tells SI that the Magic gave Howard permission to have contact with several teams to explore his options. Fegan says report that Dwight could have been traded today was ‘inaccurate.’ Fegan says the Orlando gave Howard permission to talk to three teams. New Jersey was one of them.”
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: This is the latest evidence that Dwight Howard is done with the Orlando Magic.
After all, the Magic 'reportedly' allowed Howard, their franchise face and perennial All-Star, to talk to three teams about a trade and extension.
Remember, Howard can and will opt-out of the final year of his contract next summer, meaning he can leave the Magic as a free agent.
And he won’t sign an extension with the Magic, so the club is letting Howard explore his options to help facilitate a trade.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
Hoping to pull off a pair of blockbuster moves that would rock the NBA, the Lakers are willing to trade anyone on their roster outside of Kobe Bryant to bring Howard and Paul to Los Angeles, two sources said.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: These are the Los Angeles Lakers. They go big. Or they don’t go.
It’s no surprise the storied purple-and-gold want to land both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. These are the Lakers; their arrogance and deep pockets make anything possible.
Remember, fifteen years ago they cleared a mountain of cap space and signed Shaquille O’Neal, while also swapping veteran center Vlade Divac for some kid called Kobe Bryant.
A few years ago they stole Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and ended up with two consecutive Larry O’Brien trophies.
Of course, this scenario wasn’t supposed to happen anymore.
The lockout was supposedly about, in part, preventing major markets from landing all the league’s premier talent. The owners caved, failing to get franchise tags or a hard cap in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
So the Lakers will continue to chase the best talent. After all, there’s no system stopping them.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
The source classified Bynum as “indifferent” to all the trade talk and willing to play wherever. This is the third time he’s been rumored to be the centerpiece of a package for an All-Star, previously being involved in discussions for Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Andrew Bynum has been through this before.
Remember the Los Angeles Lakers nearly dealt a teenage Bynum to the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd. The speculation was ramped, with Laker great Kobe Bryant commenting on the trade rumors in a bizarre cell-phone video.
There had also been chatter of Bynum being dangled as bait for Kevin Garnett when The Big Ticket was looking to escape the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So it’s no surprise that Bynum isn’t bothered by the chatter of being sent to the Orlando Magic in exchange for All-Star Dwight Howard.
In Orlando, he’d be the undisputed first option. There’d be no more playing in the shadow of Kobe Bryant.
However, there’s a strong chance the Lakers keep Bynum. He was, after all, the choice of Jim Buss, the new lead executive of the purple-and-gold and, most importantly, the owner’s son.
The younger Buss uses Bynum’s success to justify his position in the front office. Don’t think this doesn’t matter in the political world of the purple-and-gold.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
But while the Clippers like Paul, sources say they like Dwight Howard even more. The Clippers have made it clear to executives throughout the league that they will do whatever it takes -- outside of trading Griffin -- to get Howard, who will become a free agent at the same time as Paul, either this season or next summer.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: They can chase him but he will not sign.
Dwight Howard will not opt-out of his contract with the Orlando Magic to sign as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers in July, 2012.
Yes, the Clippers have Blake Griffin, the next face of the NBA. They also have Donald Sterling, the worst owner in the NBA and perhaps pro sports.
Why would Howard, who presumably wants to win an NBA championship, willingly sign with an owner who has gone to court for racist policies, been accused of sexual harassment, and has no issue watching his players shower while on a date?
Talk about creepy.
Then there’s his alligator arms. For years, Sterling was content to lose with cheap talent and make money off luxury tax payments from league head office.
Sometimes he doesn’t honour contracts -even when he’s fired an employee. Isn’t that right Mike Dunleavy?
Winning starts at the top. And if Howard wants to win he shouldn’t sign with the Clippers because they have a dysfunctional owner who won't spend money.
Of course, if Howard wants to leverage his brand then he may consider Los Angeles’ other team.
And then he’ll just have to live with Sterling, warts and all.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
Owners dropped their insistence on what would have been known as the Carmelo Anthony rule, preventing teams from executing extend-and-trade deals similar to the one that sent Anthony from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks last season. This means that if Dwight Howard, Deron Williams and Chris Paul want to leverage their way out of Orlando, New Jersey and New Orleans, they will still be eligible to sign three-year extensions with their current teams before being immediately traded elsewhere.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Weren’t owners, in part, fighting to prevent superstars from leaving less desirable markets?
Wasn’t the five-month long lockout about re-establishing a balance between smaller, have-not markets and larger, have markets?
The owners conceded by failing to end the extend-and-trade clause, which means superstars and pending 2012 free agents Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams have leverage over Orlando, New Orleans, and New Jersey in contract negotiations.
Howard, Paul, and Williams can sign lucrative four-year extensions for max’ money with the Magic, Hornets, and Nets as part of a trade - just like Carmelo Anthony did in 2011.
Remember Anthony held the Denver Nuggets hostage, signing an extension once he knew he'd be sent to the New York Knicks as part of a blockbuster deal.
Personally, I think Howard and Paul move on.
Howard wants a flashier, bigger city to maximize his off-court pursuits, while Paul is clearly frustrated with the Hornets' progress and wants to win now.
Williams could stay with the Nets. Ownership has deep pockets. The franchise will soon swap the swamps of Jersey for a trendy Brooklyn stadium. And the stocky point guard, if he re-signs, will be the face of a re-born franchise.
Of course, the Nets have been trending upward since Mikhail Prokhorov, also known as Russia’s richest man, bought the franchise.
If Howard and Paul do leave Orlando and New Orleans through the extend-and-trade, fans will again wonder what the lockout was really for.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
Also, shout outs to Dwight Howard’s shenanigans and gimmicks with the elbows and physical play. Shutting down him is simple – play mind games a la Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer. Shout outs to 1980s and 1990s hardcore basketball. I’m convinced that he would not last during that era. Howard gets frustrated too quickly once another big man defends him very well. He expresses that by throwing in cheap shots. If anyone denies it, I don’t know what you are watching.
"I'm not looking to say anything to get myself in trouble with the league, but I just don't see other star players getting called for fouls the way I get them," Howard wrote. "No star player in the league is outta games the way I am."
Ray Allen told the Globe last night that teammate Paul Pierce organized the call of dozens of players to discuss the possibility of breaking up the union if a deal is not reached soon. According to Allen, there were in fact two conference calls, the other on Thursday, in which Allen did not participate.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Are they prepared for the fallout?
Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce, and Dwyane Wade will be blamed if they lead 50 NBA players to decertify the union and take the owners to court in search of a new collective bargaining agreement.
Such a move would be messy. Such a move would be complicated. And such a move would have consequences like the league cancelling the entire 2011-12 season.
It wouldn’t matter that the owners negotiated in poor faith. It wouldn’t matter that the leader of the players union have squabbled like children. It wouldn’t matter that the NBA’s well-to-do business model is out of touch with the current global economy.
The only thing that would matter is that there’s no basketball. After all, decertification means a cancelled season. And a cancelled season means angry fans.
Howard’s good guy days would end. For Pierce, a lifelong Celtic, everyday would be like playing the Lakers. And Wade better expect The ’Heattles’ treatment to continue.
Hopefully, it doesn’t come to this. Hopefully, they find a solution.
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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: And so Dwight Howard’s tour of randomness continues.
Today the Orlando Magic center is dancing with the children of Mongolia, and, after his planking session with fans, I have no idea what he’ll be doing next.
Click the video, watch Howard, and get at HoopsVibe News with thoughts.
--Oly Sandor.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Yesterday he dunked on a giraffe hoop. Today he planked with hundreds of fans in China.
Yes, the Dwight Howard goodwill tour continues and the Orlando Magic center spread his brand overseas through having fans plank in the shape of a D-H.
Click here for pictures and get at us with thoughts on Howard's antics in the comment box below.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Hopefully, an animal rights group doesn’t see the video of Dwight Howard dunking on a giraffe hoop.
You can see it, though. Click the video below and watch the Orlando Magic center entertain the masses in Tokyo -even if some will claim cruelty to animals.
--Oly Sandor.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
“One thing that might give some comfort to Orlando fans is that one of the thoughts in the new collective bargaining agreement is to give an advantage to teams who are trying to keep their incumbent players,” Dyer says. “That would allow the Magic, for instance, to offer Dwight more money than any other team and (entice him) to stay home.”
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: They have hope.
The speculation has been that Dwight Howard will opt-out of his contract next summer and walk on the Orlando Magic, sending the South Florida franchise back to the stone age.
Some expect Howard to join the Los Angeles Lakers, even though the purple-and-gold has post Andrew Bynum. Others expect Howard to partner with a top table-setter like the New Jersey Nets’ Deron Williams.
Either way, Howard was thought to be gone. And Magic GM Otis Smith was getting ready to reserve his seat at the NBA’s annual draft lottery in the spring of 2013.
Until now.
Apparently, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will help teams retain their own stars by increasing the amount they can pay, and essentially outbid opponents for, their own free agents
Other clauses will make it difficult for stars to join forces. Salaries will be reduced; there could be a hard cap without a luxury tax or exemptions; there may even be revenue sharing. (Call it ‘The Miami Clause’.)
Expect the post lockout NBA to resemble the NFL. There will be greater parity. There will be greater balance. There will be less have-not franchises.
All of which should help Orlando keep Howard. This, it seems, is the best they can hope for.
--Oly Sandor.
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