Looking for a team to call his own, Larry Bird tries to bring the NBA back to Charlotte.
Category: Sports
Short Term Thinking.
Mitch Lawrence doesn’t like the McDyess trade.
Double Sixes or Snake Eyes?
Scott Layden gambled big last night in the NBA draft, trading away the seventh pick, Mark Jackson, and Marcus Camby for All-Star PF Antonio McDyess and the 25th pick (PG Frank Williams.) I like it…if McDyess can play a full season, it’s a great trade, at least for the short term. (Camby was great when he was healthy, but he was just Mr. Glass too often, and Mark Jackson has had a fork in his back the past two seasons.) Plus, Dice is a legitimate low-post option, while Camby was more of a clean-up guy on the offensive boards…McDyess will draw double teams and open it up for Spree and Houston. Now, if the Knicks can sign free-agent C Keon Clark and actually trade PF Kurt Thomas and PG Charlie Ward to Dallas for PG Nick Van Exel, we’re suddenly a contender again. Not a championship contender, mind you, but good enough to represent in the East until we can get back under the salary cap. All in all, a much better night than the Frederic Weis fiasco of 1999. By the way, I thought it a nice parallel that the same summer US joins the world in competitive soccer, the NBA opens its doors to the world…six of the first round picks, including obviously the first pick (Yao Ming of China), were international players.
With the seventh pick…
The NBA Draft is tonight at 7pm on TNT (good historical recap here)…here’s hoping for lots of crazy trades accompanied by zingers from Sir Charles, the Jet, and EJ (Inside is far and away the best sports program on television.) As noted yesterday, Knicks pick seventh.
Hitting the Wall.
Germany defeats South Korea 1-0, and will face either Brazil or Turkey (Brazil) in the Final. Ah well, it was a great run for the Koreans.
Selective Service.
With trade winds blowing around the NBA, ESPN offers its final mock draft before the real deal tomorrow night. Looks like the Knicks may indeed pull off a legit big man in Maryland’s Chris Wilcox or (possibly) Brazilian phenom Nene, although I’d think “baby Iverson” Dajuan Wagner is still on their list too. Either way, I’m expecting NY to unload at least half their litany of undersized PF’s (Thomas, ‘Spoon, Harrington) and backup PG’s (Jackson, Ward, Eisley) sometime this summer.
Maybe in 2006.
As everyone knows, England and the US went down together in World Cup action Friday. A very disappointing evening, although at least we Yanks can hold our heads high (unlike the ’98 fiasco.) I’d say it’s Brazil’s to lose at this point, although South Korea is clearly exhibiting great mojo this Cup. In other sporting news, the NBA draft is on Wednesday, which along with the final four Cup games should proved oases of sporting excitement amid another long baseball summer. Ah well, at least there’s always the MLS.
Eight is enough.
Michael Davies of ESPN offers World Cup Power Rankings for the final eight squads. In related news, Italian club Perugia cuts Ahn Jung-hwan (the Korean player who scored the Golden Goal that knocked out Italia) in a fit of self-destructive nationalism. At the rate Ahn’s going, I’m sure he’ll find a job.
A level field.
While the US gets better at soccer, the rest of the world catches up in basketball. Looks like NBA GM’s had better brush up on the language skills.
Crazy Eights.
The US defeats Mexico 2-0 in a North American grudge match, and a new era begins for American futbol. Well, at least a lot of us hope so. At any rate, I’m glad we got the second goal to nip the “Hand of God” conspiracy theories in the bud. Alas, Ireland, Belgium, and Sweden – the three other teams (along with England) I’ve been rooting for — weren’t so lucky.