Line on Stein: Offseason Review
In part 346 of our infamous rivalry, I'm taking on ESPN's Marc Stein and his smug evaluation of the 2006 offseason. For your reference: STEIN ON EAST / STEIN ON WEST
DA BEARS
The worst offseason in the West? Or an off-season Jerry West couldn’t have dreamed of? The ideal situation: give up one uber-role player and lose one star for half the season in return for playing time to develop young cheap talent and a shot at the top of the 2007 draft. The Logo can’t be faulted for Gasol’s foot injury, but rather can only be praised for his tremendous draft which netted him excellent prospects at three positions: Kyle Lowry, Akexander Johnson, and Rudy Gay. Lowry is the toughest PG to enter the draft, will play immaculate defense and add an athletic penetrator to Memphis’ aging backcourt. Gay (along with Swift) for Battier will doubtlessly end up in the Grizzlies favor down the road, especially since Gay will get the minutes to take advantage of Eddie Jones tutelage right away. AJ is a monster rebounder and athletic freak at PF, who will split time with Hakim Warrick and Swift as resident highlight reel regular. It sucks to lose Pau now, but if they come away with either Greg Oden or a marquee SG next summer (when they will have cap space),
the Griz will appreciate their misforture and West’s under-the-radar brilliance soon enough.
LIFTOFF?
Tough call on Houston. I would have preferred to trade McGrady and keep Gay, a Pippen-esque shooter-defender that would really fit in on a Jeff-Yao squad with a few years of seasoning. Instead they’re trying to win now, and it’s the right decision if you’re keeping The Mac since his back isn’t getting any better. Shane will be a good fit—can he play PF? Can McGrady play SG? Because they should both be on the floor at once, and Battier rarely guards the Bryants, Iversons, and Wades of the league. Marc neglected to note my favorite new Houstonite, John Lucas III, an incredibly polished playmaker and shooter who will push incumbant Raefer Alston for minutes at the point. I’m excited for Houston’s young blood (Lucas, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak, Luther Head, and the golden Greek, Vassilis Spanoulis), but it’s up to Tracy’s reportedly fortified core muscles whether tabbing him over Gay as Yao’s partner on the court will pan out.
BUZZ-KILLER
Hornets had THE BEST OFFSEASON? Sure, Peja’s an improvement on their wing play, but how could a Byron-Scott-led team miss out on Rodney Carney in the draft? TWICE?!? I’d expected them to equip themselves with a promising young big, but stacking up on them when you clearly have a hole at shooting guard is ludicrous. Just as Chris Paul would have been the perfect table-setter for Joe Johnson and Josh Smith in Atlanta, Rodney Carney would have been an ideal running mate for the intrepid young point. Today’s NBA grants the advantage to speed, and while Peja is tall, he won’t blow by a paper bag, let alone defend his way out of one. They had a nice offseason, but are probably getting slightly ahead of themselves thinking adding two huge contracts to Stoijakavic and Chandler will be enough to make them playoff-ready.
PHILLY'S COLTS
For someone claiming to be an unabashed Bruce Bowen fan, MS should have dropped a few more kudos in Billy’s lunchbox for adding pure-stopper Bobby Jones to the Sixers’ fold on draft night. For all his rave reviews, Brandon “ROY”Roy would not have been able to lead the Washington Huskies as deep into March without the defensive brilliance of Jones at his side. If Maurice Cheeks has the balls to bench Korver enough to give Jones and fellow all-world athlete Rodney Carney time at the swing position, Philly might just have the young legs to rejuvenate its running game this fall. Though the frontcourt still has tremendous holes on D (from lacksidasical Sam and immobile Chris),
an Iverson-Iguodala-Jones-Carney rotation will certainly pick off a few more passes and hold down the perimeter on both ends of the floor.
SUNDOWN
Phoenix misses Colangelo already. I would rate their offseason even lower than Marcy Marc did—how would they have fared against the Lakers in April without Eddie House and Tim Thomas? Did they really need to exchange their two first round picks for cash instead of, I don’t know, booking Sergio Rodriguez or Kyle Lowry on the cheap as Stevie Wonder’s back-up / successor? Jumaine Jones will help some, but they essentially stretched their bench thinner this summer, which isn’t too safe considering the health concerns to Nash, Kurt Thomas, and that other guy we haven’t seen in a while…
LAKE PLACID
Why couldn't we just have a calm offseason? As a Laker fan, I hate the pickup of Vlad Rad. If you play him and Odom at the same time, does that mean VR guards SF’s, the most athletic position in the league? Shooters are good; speed and passing are better, and Radmanociv isn’t noted for either. Kind of like Brian Cook…if this limits their ability to go under the cap, I wrinkle my brow in its general direction. JR/Danilo Pinnock looks interesting from summer leage play, and Farmar might add some point savy, but it’s basically up to Lamar to play the triangle like he did after the all-star break and up to Kwame and Bynum to become more assertive on both ends.
MORMONS
Stein left out one significant addition to Utah’s roster: Ronnie Brewer. The additions of Brewer and Fisher will give the Jazz enough ball-handling on the floor to allow Deron “Darren” Williams to be the shooter he should be. Ronnie also adds much needed athleticism and Greyhound speed end-to-end. Also, Jerry Sloan’s wedding is a big offseason move—congratulations are in order.
PACE THIS
Indiana did not have the third best offseason in the east. They are practically rebuilding. Al Harrington didn’t work the first time, and will only squander minutes away from up-and-comer Danny Granger. No Peja, no Artest, no Fred Jones, no Croshier—who’s hitting outside shots again, Stephen Gansta? Does this mean we get to see Saurunas J. play now? Other than trading for James “Flight” White on draft day and re-signing Rick Carlisle, I don’t get this club.
LATER, TJ
As in, “Later, TJ will be missed”. Don’t get me wrong—good move for the Bucks to establish a Villenueva-Bogut tandem for the future. Too bad it’s not a Chris Paul—Michael Redd-Bobby Simmons—Villenueva foursome though…
NJN
I like the Nets offseason more than Detroit’s or Washington’s. Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Mile Ilic immediately give Lawrence Frank key components to energize the precision running game for one last run to bring the Meadowlands to the Finals. A healthy RJ, Carter’s contract year, and Kidd seeing his window barely open with Detroit one man down
and Miami one year older will all contribute to a huge comeback year for the Nets: able bodies and skill sets backing up each position will make for favorable rotations and limit the chances of their brittle starters running out of steam before June.
KNICKERTALKER
Be prepared. The most significant moves of the off-season were clearly the Ben Wallace singing and the class of ’03 re-signing, but only slightly less monumental were the coaching changes. Don Nelson will retool the Warriors to the tune of Run TMC’s high-octane offense. Pat Riley will squeeze every ounce of attention out of a Heat team growing more veteran by the minute. But most of all, Isaih Thomas brings the league’s flagship team to a storied crossroads that rival no other. At the helm, he will sink or swim as they do. Thomas and Marbury (and to a lesser extent, Francis) have everything at stake: careers, reputations, future employment, respect. Believe this—this coaching change MUST make all the difference.
DA BEARS
The worst offseason in the West? Or an off-season Jerry West couldn’t have dreamed of? The ideal situation: give up one uber-role player and lose one star for half the season in return for playing time to develop young cheap talent and a shot at the top of the 2007 draft. The Logo can’t be faulted for Gasol’s foot injury, but rather can only be praised for his tremendous draft which netted him excellent prospects at three positions: Kyle Lowry, Akexander Johnson, and Rudy Gay. Lowry is the toughest PG to enter the draft, will play immaculate defense and add an athletic penetrator to Memphis’ aging backcourt. Gay (along with Swift) for Battier will doubtlessly end up in the Grizzlies favor down the road, especially since Gay will get the minutes to take advantage of Eddie Jones tutelage right away. AJ is a monster rebounder and athletic freak at PF, who will split time with Hakim Warrick and Swift as resident highlight reel regular. It sucks to lose Pau now, but if they come away with either Greg Oden or a marquee SG next summer (when they will have cap space),
the Griz will appreciate their misforture and West’s under-the-radar brilliance soon enough.LIFTOFF?
Tough call on Houston. I would have preferred to trade McGrady and keep Gay, a Pippen-esque shooter-defender that would really fit in on a Jeff-Yao squad with a few years of seasoning. Instead they’re trying to win now, and it’s the right decision if you’re keeping The Mac since his back isn’t getting any better. Shane will be a good fit—can he play PF? Can McGrady play SG? Because they should both be on the floor at once, and Battier rarely guards the Bryants, Iversons, and Wades of the league. Marc neglected to note my favorite new Houstonite, John Lucas III, an incredibly polished playmaker and shooter who will push incumbant Raefer Alston for minutes at the point. I’m excited for Houston’s young blood (Lucas, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak, Luther Head, and the golden Greek, Vassilis Spanoulis), but it’s up to Tracy’s reportedly fortified core muscles whether tabbing him over Gay as Yao’s partner on the court will pan out.
BUZZ-KILLERHornets had THE BEST OFFSEASON? Sure, Peja’s an improvement on their wing play, but how could a Byron-Scott-led team miss out on Rodney Carney in the draft? TWICE?!? I’d expected them to equip themselves with a promising young big, but stacking up on them when you clearly have a hole at shooting guard is ludicrous. Just as Chris Paul would have been the perfect table-setter for Joe Johnson and Josh Smith in Atlanta, Rodney Carney would have been an ideal running mate for the intrepid young point. Today’s NBA grants the advantage to speed, and while Peja is tall, he won’t blow by a paper bag, let alone defend his way out of one. They had a nice offseason, but are probably getting slightly ahead of themselves thinking adding two huge contracts to Stoijakavic and Chandler will be enough to make them playoff-ready.
PHILLY'S COLTS
For someone claiming to be an unabashed Bruce Bowen fan, MS should have dropped a few more kudos in Billy’s lunchbox for adding pure-stopper Bobby Jones to the Sixers’ fold on draft night. For all his rave reviews, Brandon “ROY”Roy would not have been able to lead the Washington Huskies as deep into March without the defensive brilliance of Jones at his side. If Maurice Cheeks has the balls to bench Korver enough to give Jones and fellow all-world athlete Rodney Carney time at the swing position, Philly might just have the young legs to rejuvenate its running game this fall. Though the frontcourt still has tremendous holes on D (from lacksidasical Sam and immobile Chris),
an Iverson-Iguodala-Jones-Carney rotation will certainly pick off a few more passes and hold down the perimeter on both ends of the floor.SUNDOWN
Phoenix misses Colangelo already. I would rate their offseason even lower than Marcy Marc did—how would they have fared against the Lakers in April without Eddie House and Tim Thomas? Did they really need to exchange their two first round picks for cash instead of, I don’t know, booking Sergio Rodriguez or Kyle Lowry on the cheap as Stevie Wonder’s back-up / successor? Jumaine Jones will help some, but they essentially stretched their bench thinner this summer, which isn’t too safe considering the health concerns to Nash, Kurt Thomas, and that other guy we haven’t seen in a while…
LAKE PLACID
Why couldn't we just have a calm offseason? As a Laker fan, I hate the pickup of Vlad Rad. If you play him and Odom at the same time, does that mean VR guards SF’s, the most athletic position in the league? Shooters are good; speed and passing are better, and Radmanociv isn’t noted for either. Kind of like Brian Cook…if this limits their ability to go under the cap, I wrinkle my brow in its general direction. JR/Danilo Pinnock looks interesting from summer leage play, and Farmar might add some point savy, but it’s basically up to Lamar to play the triangle like he did after the all-star break and up to Kwame and Bynum to become more assertive on both ends.
MORMONS
Stein left out one significant addition to Utah’s roster: Ronnie Brewer. The additions of Brewer and Fisher will give the Jazz enough ball-handling on the floor to allow Deron “Darren” Williams to be the shooter he should be. Ronnie also adds much needed athleticism and Greyhound speed end-to-end. Also, Jerry Sloan’s wedding is a big offseason move—congratulations are in order.
PACE THIS
Indiana did not have the third best offseason in the east. They are practically rebuilding. Al Harrington didn’t work the first time, and will only squander minutes away from up-and-comer Danny Granger. No Peja, no Artest, no Fred Jones, no Croshier—who’s hitting outside shots again, Stephen Gansta? Does this mean we get to see Saurunas J. play now? Other than trading for James “Flight” White on draft day and re-signing Rick Carlisle, I don’t get this club.
LATER, TJAs in, “Later, TJ will be missed”. Don’t get me wrong—good move for the Bucks to establish a Villenueva-Bogut tandem for the future. Too bad it’s not a Chris Paul—Michael Redd-Bobby Simmons—Villenueva foursome though…
NJN
I like the Nets offseason more than Detroit’s or Washington’s. Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Mile Ilic immediately give Lawrence Frank key components to energize the precision running game for one last run to bring the Meadowlands to the Finals. A healthy RJ, Carter’s contract year, and Kidd seeing his window barely open with Detroit one man down
and Miami one year older will all contribute to a huge comeback year for the Nets: able bodies and skill sets backing up each position will make for favorable rotations and limit the chances of their brittle starters running out of steam before June.KNICKERTALKER
Be prepared. The most significant moves of the off-season were clearly the Ben Wallace singing and the class of ’03 re-signing, but only slightly less monumental were the coaching changes. Don Nelson will retool the Warriors to the tune of Run TMC’s high-octane offense. Pat Riley will squeeze every ounce of attention out of a Heat team growing more veteran by the minute. But most of all, Isaih Thomas brings the league’s flagship team to a storied crossroads that rival no other. At the helm, he will sink or swim as they do. Thomas and Marbury (and to a lesser extent, Francis) have everything at stake: careers, reputations, future employment, respect. Believe this—this coaching change MUST make all the difference.
posted by barkan at 11:48 AM
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