Yardbarker: Steve Nash

Gift wrapped for Brooklyn: The 2008-2009 New Jersey Nets

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:14:49 -0500

I have always been resistant to change. Even if I knew it was coming a mile away. Last February, I got the opportunity to see the Nets at their best for what turned out to be their last time together against a major opponent. And with the trade deadline looming, there were already some notable changes on their roster as the Nets shipped forward/center Jason Collins to Memphis for underachieving forward Stromile Swift. A few days later, team captain Jason Kidd followed suit when New Jersey sent him back to the very team that drafted him (Dallas Mavericks) for Devin Harris and other players. Change was coming. I just didn't know how fast. Nets Team President Rod Thorn and the rest of the Nets brain trust have been very busy this off-season. Having traded away their franchise's second all-time leading scorer—Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for China's Yi Jianlian and underachieving forward Bobby Simmons. The Nets also did very well for themselves in the 2008 NBA Draft after they bagged Stanford's 7'0'' center Brook Lopez at #10, 6'10'' forward Ryan Anderson at #21, and arguably the steal of the draft at #40—Memphis scoring guard-forward Chris "CDR" Douglas-Roberts. Rod Thorn didn't stop there as he also allowed forward Bostjan "Boki" Nachbar to sign with a Russian team and sent guard Marcus Williams to the Golden State Warriors for a future lottery-protected 1st round pick. With that said, the only Nets left from last season's roster are Darrell Armstrong, Josh Boone, Nenad Krstic, Sean Williams, Vincent Lamar Carter and his $61.8 million dollar extension. Of those five players, only Boone, Williams, and Carter are certain to make the final roster. The New Jersey Nets have certainly positioned themselves well for the unrestricted free agent boon of 2010 that will feature the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr., Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Walter Ray Allen, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Manu Ginobili, Tracy McGrady, and for what it's worth, Shaquille O'Neal. This list can further increase if players who hold Early Termination Options (ETO) in their existing contracts decide to exercise them. They are Amare Stoudemire, Michael Redd, Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Yao Ming, and Dirk Nowitzki. If the Nets don't land LeBron James in 2010. They are not short on alternatives from the wealth of talent on that list. Kudos to the Nets brain trust on their foresight. Brooklyn may not only be getting a team two years from now. But a solid contender. Addendum: - DeSagana Diop and the Dallas Mavericks agreed on a five-year, $31 million deal (the team's full midlevel exception) last July 9, 2008. It will be Diop's second stint with the Mavericks after being a part of the Jason Kidd-Devin Harris deal six months earlier - What exactly did the Nets get in the Marcus Williams deal? Fred Kerber of nypost.com shares that "if the Warriors are in the playoffs in 2011, the Nets get their first round pick. So it's lottery-protected in 2011. He adds "if the Nets are still waiting for the pick in 2012, they get G. State's first rounder, as long as it's not 1-through 11. If they're still waiting in 2013, they get the first rounder as long as it's not 1-through-10. But 2013 is the cutoff. If they haven't gotten the pick by then they get two second rounders, in 2013 and 2015." Sounds as shady as Marcus Camby being dealt for a 2nd round pick, if you know what I mean. - Lastly, at the age of 40, guard Darrell Armstrong won't be back with the Nets for the upcoming 2008-2009 NBA season.

Denver Nuggets: What Does The Future Hold? LeBron?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:04:42 -0500

So the Nuggets just traded away thier MVP Marcus Camby. Don't take this the wrong way; I know Camby is not the best player on the Denver Nuggets. However, I do know that he was the heart and soul of that team and in many ways was their Most Valuable Player. So now what? Marcus Camby was just traded for the right to swap second round picks in next years draft. Excuse me? I know this article is a little late and maybe just a tad bit out dated but I've got some ideas for what the Nuggets may do in the future now that they have some slight wiggle room when it comes to the cap. The Nuggets also received a ten million dollar luxery tax exception in this trade. Although this does not get the Nuggets below the salary cap, it does allow them more flexibility to re-sign J.R. Smith this summer. That is the first move in a long line of moves the Nuggets need to make. After this season, the Nuggets will most likely let Allen Iverson walk. This is perfect. I love Allen Iverson, but the experiment has not worked. With A.I. gone, the Nuggets will then have about thirty million dollars to throw around at free agents and have more leverage when making trades. So the time isn't now for the Denver Nuggets. The time is in the future. We must be patient Denver fans. Let us go over what the Nuggets could possibly put together next summer in free agency. In the summer of 2009, as I said before, A.I. will be leaving us. That gives us thirty million dollars in cap room. We have J.R. Smith locked up now, and we are now signing Linas Kleiza to a multi-year deal. Stop there. Remember, we must be patient. Next season (2008-2009) will not be our year. After Iverson leaves, we could use a new face in the backcourt. That face could very well come in next years draft, where it is possible that we could have two first round picks (as long as Charlotte is not in the lottery - pray the Bobcats are a playoff team next year!). First priority in the draft is a point guard. I have three in mind now; Ty Lawson (University of North Carolina), Jonny Flynn (Syracuse University) and Darrin Collison (UCLA). All three would be great additions to the Nuggets backcourt and all three would likely see playing time early and often. Next is a big. I don't know as of now what next years draft will hold as far as bigs in the draft, but that is a hole we can fill next year. Re-signing Kleiza to a long-term deal is our next priority. Third; get rid of Karl. If it does not happen during the season, he needs to be gone after next season. I don't know what the future holds, but as of now Avery Johnson is still out there. Johnson is a fiery coach who demands respect from his young players and can turn around the Nuggets defense. Those are three things a once fiery Karl no longer has the ability to bring out in himself or his team. Ok, now we're done. We have a solid team now that may make the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference. Here's the starting line-up: 1 - Ty Lawson (Or one of the other two) 2 - J.R. Smith 3 - Carmelo Anthony 4 - Kenyon Martin 5 - Nene. With a new coach, a solid point and Kleiza coming off the bench, its possible that this team will make the playoffs. Now comes the real fun. The Summer of 2010, aka the "Summer of LeBron." Guess what? That seven year, $93 million deal that Kenyon Martin inked years ago is now gone! Last year we re-signed Linas Kleiza and added a few rookies to the roster. That didn't exactly break the bank. With thirty million dollars to play with last year (minus the money we paid Kleiza and the rookies) plus all the bank we'll be making off of losing Kenyon Martin, we will now have a ton of money to play with to lure LeBron into town. Isn't this fun?! Here's a possible startig line-up for 2010 - 1 -Ty Lawson - 2 J.R. Smith - 3 LeBron James 4 - Carmelo Anthony 5 - Nene. Wow!!!! Now that's a team! We'd still have Kleiza off the bench too! I know Carmelo is a little undersized at the four but ask anybody in the league and they'll tell you that he is one of the most deceivingly strong players in the league. Not to mention he can jump just as well, if not better than, most of the other fours in the league and he is quicker than most fours in the league as well. Oh yeah, and he also plays the four for Team USA during the summer. And I believe he often plays his best while playing that position for Team USA. Now don't get too excited by this news quite yet. LeBron is obviously interested in New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) and he is obviously going to be lured by other teams. One phone call might go something like this: (Dwyane Wade) "I got this kid down her in South Beach named Michael Beasley. He's pretty good. What do you say to coming down here and playing with me and this young stud? We can win a championship together." (LeBron) "You know what D-Wade, that doesn't sound too bad to me!" End of conversation. I haven't done much research when it comes to this so I don't know if Miami will even have enough mulah to do that, but I'm just saying. It's very possible. So with that, here is a list of other NBA stars available as unrestricted free agents in the "Summer of LeBron": Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Redd. I'll say it again: Wow!!!! I can't wait to see what the future holds for the Denver Nuggets. God knows there are endless possibilities out there. Now all we can do as fans is sit back, relax and pray for the best. Go Charlotte Bobcats!

Create The Caption #248

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:38:56 -0500

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo from the AP or one of the bigger sites and you provide the caption. Hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Last Friday's Winners....

"Not pictured: Tom Green on keyboard singing "Papi would you like some juggies?""- Pete

"I'm the Jugg-ernaut, bitch!"- Anon

"This isn't what I meant when I asked you to show me your jugs!"- Wade

"Little did the unasumming fans know David Ortiz is lactose intolerant and those milk jugs were about to feel his wrath."- Ryan O'Leary
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Steve Nash and Baron Davis riding a tandem bike in Cali? (Via Merkin Sports)

Daily Links:

More Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Mike And The Mad Dog (Bleacher Report)
Submit Ideas To Change The MLB All Star Game (MLB America)
Manny Is Still Hilarious (Sox and Dawgs)
NBAers Love Them Some Cheesecake Factory (Fanhouse)
Kato Kaelin Has His Own Reality Show (Randball)
A British Open Recap (Calling The Shots)
Demolition Derbies Are Awesome (On 205th)
An Interview With The New Harold Baines Statue (Big League Stew)
Your NL Cy Young Candidates (The Love of Sports)
An Interview With J Traina Of Hot Clicks (You Been Blinded)
Taylor To The Skins Was Very Predictable (Rumors and Rants)
More People Need To Wear Pink Pants (Simon on Sports)
Stay Classy Ohio (With Leather)

Baron Davis and Steve Nash Don't Own Mirrors

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:22:15 -0500

Here is a very unusual pic of the former NBA MVP Steve Nash and the new Clipper Baron Davis having a gay old time riding a tandem bicycle dressed like it's 1985. Is that the new style in Southern California?? If so I'll be sure to make sure I skip the trip out there.

The System Makes a Difference

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:50:35 -0500

We have seen many instances of this over the years. Robert Parish was considered a troublemaker in Golden State they felt that he would never be a good center and couldn't wait to trade him so that they could draft Joe Barry Carroll, and yet became a Hall of Fame player in Boston. Dennis Johnson was considered a malcontent who couldn't run a team and became the glue that held the team together in Boston. Jermaine O'Neal was seen as a bust in Portland and became a dominant player in Indiana. Darko Milicic was a non-entity in Detroit only to become a player in Orlando. Steve Nash languished in Phoenix before breaking out in Dallas. And on and on. There are instances throughout the NBA. A player seems washed up, a troublemaker, a mistake, etc. only to become an All Star on the team they are traded to. Chauncey Billips was a player seen by Rick Pitino as not developing quickly enough. But yet he went to Detroit and developed very quickly. The same can be said of Jermaine O'Neal after he went to Indiana. In most cases, the difference is in the system or the coaching. Some come from a system that doesn't fit their playing style. Or the coach and the player don't get along and so the player is not given playing time or is given a reputation as a malcontent or lazy. Or, sometimes it is just the player maturing and breaking out that coincides with the trade. Sometimes it is the teammates that make a difference in that the chemistry is just right among a group of player or the chemistry doesn't work with others. Sometimes, it is the player and not the system that is the problem. I had hoped that Telfair was one of those players who would blossom when given a fresh chance with a new team, but it didn't work out that way. Telfair may still break out and find a system where he can shine, but it didn't happen in Boston. Rondo came out of a system that didn't play to his strengths at Kentucky. Because of that, he had some adjustments to make when he came to the NBA. In spite of seeming to struggle in the Kentucky system., he came into the NBA and has become a very impressive point guard already with just 2 seasons in the NBA and led the Celtics to their first championship in 22 years. There are also many cases where a coach is fired and the team does a turn around because the coach was not getting through to the players or the coach's system didn't fit his players. This is why we see so many coaching changes in the league. As there are trades and personnel changes on teams many times the coach's system no longer fits the the new players and a change has to be made. After spending a fortune to bring in highly paid players, it is usually the coach who goes and not the players. The Celtics made wholesale changes last season and the system and players fit together surprisingly quickly. The Celtics will have the same starting 5 next season to bring some continuity but the bench will be dramatically different. Their key reserve, James Posey is gone along with PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, Scot Pollard, and possibly Tony Allen and Eddie House. Patrick O'Bryant will be a new face and as the off season wears on, Danny will be adding other new faces to fill the gaps on the bench. Danny needs to carefully select the players who he feels will fit into the system and chemistry of the team. Any player not willing to buy into ubuntu should not be considered. Patrick O'Bryant is another player who may have been the victim of being in the wrong system and with the wrong coach. Don Nelson is notorious for playing his veterans and not liking to play rookies or young players. His system is a run and gun type system and not one very well suited to a back to the basket type defensive player. In his 2 seasons with the Warriors, he played in 40 games and averages 1.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and .4 blocks per game. But, he also spent some time in the D-League and there he started to show some flashes of the promise that the Warriors saw when they made him the 9th pick in the draft. In '06-07 he played in 25 games for the Bakersfield Jam and averaged 12.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game. In the '07-08 season, he played in 8 games for the Jam and averaged 16.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in 36 minutes per game. Those are encouraging statistics. It is possible, with the proper coaching (Clifford Ray) and the right system (the Celtics) and the right teammates to help him develop his work ethic (KG, Perk, Leon Powe), he might just surprise a lot of people this season. There have also been reports of Stephon Marbury possibly coming to the Celtics. He has been called a cancer and a malcontent and has been blamed for a lot of the troubles the Knicks have been through in recent times. But, then again, he was playing in Isiah Thomas' system. It is possible that a change of system, a change of coaches, and a change of teammates may make all the difference in the world to make him a team player. A lot of teams are making big changes this season with both players and coaches, but just because they make coaching changes or bring in a star or several new players, it doesn't mean that they will be greatly improved. It all depends on how the new players fit into the system and how they mesh as a team. The Celtics had perfect chemistry last season and it will remain to be seen how well the new players will mesh with the old and how much they will miss the players who are gone.

Kings Have Great Speed in their Youth

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:20:52 -0500

Took in some Vegas NBA Summer league action yesterday between the Portland Trailblazers and the Sacramento Kings. I was hoping to see if Greg Oden would be playing, but I guess he's still rehabing his knee. I was really impressed by the speed of the Kings' young guards.

Specifically, Sean Singletary and Quincy Douby; those guys are quick. I love playing fast, when I was playing ball, I wasn't tall so I made it up with my quickness. I love watching guys like Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Leandro Barbosa; they can create havoc just by being quick. Take a look,

Quickness on Offense:

When you're quick on offense, it allows you to do what the Kings did in that last play. Go the length of the floor off a made basket and score in 5 seconds. In fact, we used to practice that as a drill sometimes, to see who could score the fastest on like a 3v2 full-court.

In this first sequence, Quincy Douby takes advantage of a slower Jerryd Bayless playing too tight. Bayless is quick in his own right, but not quick enough to be checking Douby that tight. Douby does 1 jab fake, then he looks like he's doing another jab fake in the same direction, but it's really his first explosive step,

Quickness of Defense:

This is just a mismatch here. If you have a small forward being checked by a small quicker guard, you can't think you can out-dribble him. This is just a mistake by the Finnish player Koponen who thinks he can out-dribble a much quicker Sean Singletary who defensive slides and beats his man to every spot. Finally, when Koponen tries to get rid of the ball, he makes a careless pass which is intercepted by Douby for the dunk,

Summary:

When you have speed in your backcourt, there are so many great things you can do. Drive and dish, 1 man press, etc... Ideally, as team I think you want size and strength in your center and power forward, versatility in your small forward, and speed in your 2 guards. As the old adage goes, speed kills.

For more video info on developing speed in your players, take a look at Mike Krzyzewski's DVD on Agility & Conditioning Drills. You can watch Coach K this summer as he brings Team USA to Beijing looking for Olympic gold. Discuss this and the rest of your favorite basketball topics at the X's and O's Basketball Forum.

You Know Your Career Has Gone South When...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:51:29 -0500

...you're Stephon Marbury and you check out ESPN.com this morning, only to find the following headline: "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Roberson" Now it wouldn't be so bad if that headline read any of the following: "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Steve Nash" "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Chris Paul" or even "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Dan Dickau" But Roberson? Honestly, I didn't know who Roberson was - I assumed a "T" was missing in his name. Apparently not - his name is Anthony Roberson. He played 20 games last year and averaged 5.6 ppg and 0.5 apg. Yes, Mr. Starbury, you're being replaced by a guy who cracked 10 points in a game just once last year...it also happened to be the only game where he registered more than one assist. So there's your replacement, Stephon. In the meantime, you can cash in that $19 million per year paycheck, and reminisce about the days when you would pour in 20+ points a night, and dish out 8 or 9 dimes. A guy who should be in the D-League is running your team. How the mighty have fallen.

Knicks Getting Under The Cap

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:31:27 -0500

By now I'm sure everybody has heard all the hype surrounding the 2010 free agent class. The hype is not just media driven because certain teams are already dumping salaries to get under the cap by '10. For example, the Nets gift-wrapped Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee for Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian, talk about an unbalanced trade (watch out for the Bucks this year). It seems like the right move to wait and get under the cap by then and to possibly land LeBron, D-Wade or Chris Bosh. As a tortured fan I'm not ready to just pack in the next two years but I understand the logic. The four players that are going to kill the Knicks chances to get under the cap for the '10-'11 season are Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Jared Jeffries and Jamal Crawford. Now lets take Crawford off this list because he's probably the only player on the team who can score consistently and is sorta worth the money. Crawford is going to give you around 20 ppg every night and the possibility to drop 40 or above every game. Read on to see suggestions on how the Knicks can rid themselves of these contracts............

'Shaq' jumps over an Escalade

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:09:04 -0500

First Kobe jumps over an Aston Martin, now Shaq jumps over an Escalade. Man, these two can't help but try and one-up each other. Hey, Shaq, tell me how my gas tastes!

Talking Turnovers from Summer League Action

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:59:21 -0500

As a coach, one of the things that really burns me up is turnovers. Avery Johnson says he looks at the FTs stats first to see how his team is playing. For me, the first thing I look for on the stat sheet is our own turnovers. Even on running teams, I've always been a guy that emphasized controlled speed rather than uninhibited madness.

I watched the Orlando Summer Pro league action yesterday between the Pacers and the Magic and in the first half, the Pacers had turned the ball over 10 or so times. If I was the coach of the Pacers, at halftime, they'd hear an earful from me about playing under control. Here are a couple of the bad ones,

Playing Tough with the Ball:

I watched a coaching video the other day, Jim Blaine's Playing Tough with the Basketball. The whole video talked about practice drills, concepts, on how to reduce your turnovers. The video can be basically summarized in these 4 concepts,

1. Catch the ball into triple threat (be boss)
2. Use pass fakes
3. Ball in the air, feet in the air to catch
4. Never make decisions while in the air

In the video, we can see 2 concepts which were not followed. The first clip showed what happens when you jump in the air without making a decision on what you want to do. Just because Steve Nash can do it, doesn't mean that it's good fundamentals. You never jump into the air unless you know what you will do.

In the second clip, the ball-handler could've made 1 good pass fake to get a little separation between him and his defender. Instead he panicked and threw the ball away. Fake high, then pass low, or vice versa.

The other 2 concepts. Ball in the air, feet in the air to catch. Some coaches don't really emphasize this, but it really helps for the next point which is catch the ball and go into triple threat. It's much easier to get into triple threat if you catch the ball in a 2 foot jump stop. Try it yourself... Square up to the basket in triple threat is so important. Jim Blaine borrows a Dick Bennett concept of "Be Boss" which means triple threat.

Summary:

Teams that are loose with the ball, just watch their fundamentals. I see a lot of jumping in the air to pass, standing straight up with the ball on the hip, or my pet peeve is kids that don't even make eye contact with a person to pass to, they'll just throw the ball in a random direction and hope that their teammate can read their mind.

Remember, it doesn't matter how good your other skills are, shooting, driving, defense, etc.. If you're team is giving the ball away, then you won't even get a chance at the basket.

As we are well into summer now, some more skill development video help. Check out Mike Lee's DVD on Developing the Complete Player. Mike Lee is an AAU coach and director of basketball operations for Wisconsin Playmakers. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.

Shaq jumps over an Escalade

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:14:52 -0500

In a funny short parodying the Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin video, a couple of guys pretend to be Shaq and Steve Nash leaping over an Escalade. Very funny!

Bill Plaschke is getting weirder and weirder by the day

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:07:36 -0500

First he makes the infamous video asking Elton Brand to stay in LA. And now, he insists that Chris Duhon will become New York's answer to Steve Nash.

Presenting ESPN Films "30 for 30" Initiative

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:18:09 -0500

It's no secret that ESPN has devoted a lot of money and time into building up their ESPN Films brand. They've come a long way from "3" and have had films featured at the Tribeca Film Festival the last two years. Their newest effort is a program titled "30 for 30" and will feature 30, 1-hour films by 30 different filmmakers, and the topic has to be a Sports' story from the last 30 years.

Even more interesting than the idea are the first few people they've tabbed to be directors. The short list includes Spike Lee and none other than "Mummy Lover" Steve Nash....

By year end, ESPN Films will have televised nine documentaries on ESPN and ESPN2. In addition, five filmmakers were named for the company's "30 for 30" initiative which will create 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers on a subject from the past 30 years in sports, to begin airing in September 2009 (ESPN's 30th anniversary) through 2010: Famed director Spike Lee (When the Levees Broke), two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA and Shut Up & Sing), Oscar nominee Mike Tollin (Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream), two-time NBA MVP and film entrepreneur, Steve Nash, and the rising star duo of Alfred Spelman and Billy Corbin (Cocaine Cowboys).

As I've noted before, I'm addicted to documentaries and if you haven't seen Cocaine Cowboys it's a must to add to your Netflix list. Any movie where a speedboat traveling with pounds of cocaine in its hull pulls over to aid a broken down Coast Guard boat, is a must see in my book.

As far as the other films, Steve Nash's piece will look into Canadian athlete and Cancer survivor Terry Fox and Spike Lee's will follow Kobe Bryant for an entire gameday. I poked fun at ESPN Films when they first released movies at Tribeca, but these documentaries are one of things that a network with incomparable resources does very well.

(Via ESPN PR)

Presenting ESPN Films "30 for 30" Initiative

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:18:09 -0500

By year end, ESPN Films will have televised nine documentaries on ESPN and ESPN2. In addition, five filmmakers were named for the company's "30 for 30" initiative which will create 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers on a subject from the past 30 years in sports, to begin airing in September 2009 (ESPN's 30th anniversary) through 2010: Famed director Spike Lee (When the Levees Broke), two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA and Shut Up & Sing), Oscar nominee Mike Tollin (Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream), two-time NBA MVP and film entrepreneur, Steve Nash, and the rising star duo of Alfred Spelman and Billy Corbin (Cocaine Cowboys).

Hilarious NBA Player Licenseplates

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:00:02 -0500

Well, it's Summer…and you know what that means. Road trip!! 0signal and I set off on our never ending quest to provide the best NBA coverage on the web, with a lot of T&A mixed in between. Check out many of the vanity license plates we saw from our NBA City Tour… You'll need to follow the link to check out the plates as they don't paste well... But it's well worth your time... http://www.ebsports.net/blog/?page_id=724