GO FOR 2

Photo Courtesy of Flickr/compujeramey

The Lamar Odom / L.A. Lakers off-season dance of who can make the stupidest move is starting to get very old. Look at the facts: Odom is 30 years old and his play has been up-and-down for years now, so no team is going to see him as a long term investment; economic conditions are having a serious effect on numerous NBA teams, so nobody is going to want to drop more than $10 million a season on a guy who’s a short-term, risky plug-in.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are fresh off of an NBA championship. Ron Artest is a great addition, he can defend, he can score, and he plays with great intensity. However, there’s no guarantee Artest meshes well with the Lakers – you can’t predict chemistry. You also can’t predict injuries, and that’s why NBA teams love to have deep benches. The Lakers have already lost one great bench player in Ariza, and they know they can’t afford to lose another one – especially one who put up 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in the playoffs while helping win a championship.

So why the never-ending game of one-upmanship? Why does Odom keep playing hardball for money that he can’t get from any team, much less another contender? Why are the Lakers pulling stunts like taking offers off the table without talking to Odom or his agent? These are great questions, I wish I had answers.

No other team is going to sign Odom, and the Lakers don’t have another forward/center with his skills. The sooner these two realize they need each other, the sooner this ridiculous charade can stop.

The NBA Vegas Summer league is where players who have been in the league for 3 years or less go to hone their skills and work on adjusting to the NBA game (technically there are two other small NBA summer leagues, but nobody cares, so we’re just going to focus on Vegas where most teams send players). Now, that whole ‘players in league for 3 years’ thing is really just a suggestion, you almost never see players spend that kind of time in the summer league. here’s why:

Most late draft picks tend to play for European teams, and NBA teams leave these players over in Europe for two reasons. First, while these guys are in Europe they don’t have to be signed by whatever team drafted them, which saves money and keeps cap space clear. Second, players get a chance to play at a high level and work on their skills all year long.

Meanwhile, early draft picks spend one summer in the Vegas League enjoying the fact that you have to get 10 fouls to foul out (Greg Oden still did it in his first game, don’t worry) and adjusting to the faster pace of the game and the increased talent level. The only superstar picks who don’t go to Vegas are guys who manage to get injured in the 3 weeks between the draft and the start of play (Somehow, that actually wasn’t Oden – sorry Patty Mills). Then, after their first summer most of these players will go on to play significants minutes off the bench or even start, after which coaches and GMs no longer feel the need to send players back to what amounts to a remedial camp.

So, what player was a high draft pick, played significant minutes in his first year, and is back in the Summer League for the 3rd time? Adam ‘crying mustache’ Morrison. He’s actually been getting noticed too, having poured in 20 or more points in the Laker’s first two summer games. So is this a sign that Morrison has finally arrived? You know the answer, there’s no way this means anything other than Morrison can play against a bunch of rookies. If Morrison hasn’t figured his game out by now, he’s never going to. He may become an average back-up forward, but that won’t stop him from being a draft bust.

As far players whose Vegas League performances mean something, Clippers’ number one pick Blake Griffin scored 27 points in his first summer games (against the Lakers, how ironic) as he went 11-15 from the field in just under 30 minutes. We’ll see how these two stack up when the season starts, but its a safe bet to say that the media attention garnered by Morrison’s performance will stop – and Griffin is likely to see the spotlight again.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr.com/dchofmann (Creative Commons Licensed)

With everything that happened over the weekend one thing that almost got overlooked was another stupid move involving the Dallas Mavericks and Jason Kidd. The Mavericks signed the veteran guard to a 3 year deal worth a reported $25 million dollars, all guaranteed. This was a foolish decision by the Mavericks, though not a colossally stupid one, but it’s foolish for an entirely different reason than the trade in which Dallas re-acquired Kidd two years ago.

In 2008 Dallas traded with the New Jersey Nets to acquire Kidd, a player that they originally drafted back in 1994. The price was incredibly steep for Dallas, as they lost a fantastic, young player in Devin Harris and two first-round draft picks (along with other players and cash). Although the trade wasn’t a great deal for the Mavericks, at the time Dallas was one of a few teams which had a Western Conference championship within its grasp. Sensing a chance to make a title run, Mark Cuban pulled the trigger on the trade for the veteran point guard, thinking he was the last piece. While the move never worked out like Cuban hoped, it’s easier to forgive because teams will do anything (and should do anything) when the opportunity for a championship appears. Re-signing Kidd, however, is harder to forgive.

Right now, Dallas is nowhere near contention in the West. Dallas is coming off a 50-32 season which saw them finish 3rd in the Southwest and only one game out of 4th. The Lakers and Nuggets both showcased real starpower throughout the playoffs, and while the Lakers have already added another All-Star the Nuggets are also looking to reload. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz locked up free agents Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer and have one of the best young point guards in the league in Deron Williams. At the same time the New Orleans Hornets have Chris Paul, the most exciting and dynamic point guard in the game, and have to be considered a contender. And the West is only the beginning of the problem with a title run in 09-10, because whichever team comes out of the East (Celtics, Cavaliers, or Magic…) is guaranteed to be a beast.

So where does this leave the Mavericks? It leaves them needing to rebuild and refusing to acknowledge it. Kidd will be 37 next year, and is coming off the worst season of his career in scoring and the 3rd worst in assists. Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki may be a perennial All-Star, but he’s 31 and he can’t carry a team alone. Right now the Mavs have no option other than Nowitzki, because Kidd may still be able to facilitate but he can’t score. If the Mavericks want to contend then they need a player to team with Nowitzki. Jordan needed Pippen, Kobe needed Shaq (and then Gasol), and the Celtics used a whole bunch of stars to get it done. Kidd isn’t the answer, so keeping a bloated $25 million over 3 years only makes sense if you’re going to get another big-time star to help out Nowitzki. Since the Mavericks didn’t make a move for a star, they should have cut Kidd lose, considered trading Nowitzki, and admitted that its time to rebuild.

For whatever reason (my money is on ego) Mark Cuban couldn’t see it. Now he’s stuck overpaying a point guard who no longer produces at an All-Star level, he missed out on a chance to sign some younger players and start rebuilding his organization, and his team will be lucky to even make the playoffs next season. As for Kidd, he sure isn’t going to get a ring by resigning with Mavericks, but at least he gets to make some serious, guaranteed money. He just needs to hope that when the blame starts falling after the Mavs inevitably fall way short next season, it falls on Cuban where it belongs and not himself.

So with all the power moves by Eastern Conference contenders Cleveland, Orlando, and Boston, it seems like people have forgotten that teams in the West aren’t going to roll over and surrender next year’s crown.

Various outlets are now reporting that Ron Artest will join the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Artest sent a text message to ESPN confirming that he is just working out the details before officially signing. Artest was one of the best free agents available this off-season, and any team planning on competing for the title next year needs to be seriously worried about this move.

Artest is a solid scorer, averaging over 18 points each of his last 3 seasons, but his biggest strength is his massive defensive presence. Artest has led his team in steals for 8 of the last 9 years, he’s averaged almost 5 defensive rebounds each of the last 3 seasons, and he was voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. Artest is a nightmarish defender because at 6′7″ and 246 he has the length and size to defend in the paint, but he’s quick and fluid enough to defend out on the perimeter.

Artest will join a championship roster which ranked 8th in the NBA in total defense last year. Teams already had trouble scoring on L.A., and a lot of people don’t realize that Kobe has been named to the NBA all-defensive first team 7 times. With Odom and Gasol both playing great ball inside, and Kobe and Artest able to lock down the perimeter, don’t expect teams to put up many point on the Lakers in 2009-2010. Of course, the Lakers will have almost all of their offensive pieces back (Ariza might be out the door), and with the addition of Artest that number is likely to only go up.

Sure, teams in the East will still be able to battle for a ring, but this is going to make a repeat a hell of a lot more likely. If I’m LeBron James, I’m hiring somebody to head to Staples Center for the Lakers home opener and throw a nice, cold beer in Ron-Ron’s direction.