SB Nation User Blog: otis29

Oh sh*t

otis29 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:57:12 -0000

Oh sh*t

This can't be good for Stern, his officials, or any of us on the anti-conspiracy bandwagon here at the site.

Lakers Fading Again?

otis29 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:48:14 -0000

The Lakers seem to have been anointed as the team to beat in the west by the big media - and probably rightfully so, due to the Gasol acquisition and the improved team play in the early part of the season.

But after their second consecutive home loss to one of the lower echelon teams in the league, you have to wonder if they are duplicating last year's effort down the stretch.

After 70 games in the 2006-2007 season, the Lakers were 38-32 at the 70 game mark and proceeded to go 4-8 to end the season, including home losses to Memphis, Houston, Denver, Phoenix and the Clippers.

They were then dispatched by Phoenix in 5 in the first round of the playoffs.

Now this season, there seems to be a similar scenario, having lost their last three home games, and two to weak opponents.

In both situations, the Lakers certainly have something to fight for - last year was a battle just to qualify for the playoffs, and everyone knows how competitive the west is this season. These games are huge from a seeding standpoint in the playoffs.

The Gasol and Bynum injuries have obviously hurt them, but they played a good portion of the year, and played well, without those two players.

So here's hoping this trend continues on to the playoffs - since the Kings are clearly going through the motions now, nothing would please me more than to see the hated Lakers take a dump again in the playoffs.

Options for Ron-Ron

otis29 — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:29:32 -0000

Ok, let me be clear to start - I AM NOT A CAPOLOGIST. I don't delve too much into the contract numbers, I don't play with the Trade Machine on a daily basis, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

So what I'm asking for here is for those of you more knowledgable than I to either confirm, deny or clarify the following points:

The Kings will absolutely not want to pay the luxury tax this year or next year or any year for that matter.
If the Kings do not deal Ron-Ron, there is a chance that he may decide NOT to opt-out of his contract at the end of the season, meaning the team's hands are somewhat tied at signing free agents (notably one Beno Udrih).
If Ron-Ron decides to opt out, the Kings have the option to either let him walk - and not get anything in return for his value, or work a sign-and-trade - which also means the team's hands are somewhat tied at signing free agents (notably one Beno Udrih). Or we could outright re-sign him at a modest increase in his annual salary. And we would probably have to go 4 or 5 years (same issues with free agency apply).
Ron-Ron has shown a penchant for doing his own thing on the floor.
John Salmons is a pretty damn good player.

Opposite to many here at STR, I have been pretty pro-keeping Artest most of the season. But I'm concerned that keeping Ron-Ron happy, or keeping Ron-Ron in line is going to always be the focus of this team and this coach. He's a great player, no doubt - clearly the best all-around player on the team. So I've come around to the idea that trading Ron-Ron is the way to go, and doing it now is beneficial for the following reasons:

We will get something back for him, depending on his actual market value (there is wild disagreement on this point).
We will somewhat clean up the logjam at the PG/SG/SF position, and allow John Salmons to get more minutes.
We don't risk losing him for absolutely nothing, and we don't strangle ourselves on the cap by doing a sign-and-trade.
We don't have to worry about the "ticking time-bomb" scenario we've all been waiting for since he arrived in Sacramento.
Our odds of re-signing Beno Udrih improve just a bit.

I've just had this feeling that Petrie is going to pull the trigger on Ron-Ron prior to the break, because the benefits of doing so outweigh the longshot possibility that Ron-Ron will decide to not opt-out, become more of a coachable player, and stay out of trouble.

Am I missing something here? As I said, I have no clue on the numbers involved and how it affects the salary cap/luxury tax threshhold, so feel free to call me an idiot. I'm just looking for clarification on the overall scenario vis-a-vis Artest.

O/T Scholarship Vote

otis29 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:16:23 -0000

Howdy all,

TZ linked to this recently, but as an avid reader of McCovey Chronicles (the SF Giants blog through the SBNation network), I'd like to throw a diary out there for our fine STR brethren.

Two SBNation bloggers - Grant Brisbee of "McCovey Chronicles" (Giants) and Randall Booth of "Over the Monster" (Red Sox) are finalists to win a $10,000 blogger's scholarship. The winner is being chosen via an online vote.

If you have a minute, please click onto http://www.collegescholarships.org/blog/2007/10/08/vote-for-the-winner-of-the-2007-blogging-scholarship/ and place a vote for Grant or Randall.

Personally, I think Grant blows Randall out of the water, but he is part of the SB network as well, so I've included his name.

TZ, if you feel this is spamming, please let me know and I will delete.

Schilling is at it again

otis29 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 23:31:40 -0000

I guess this much time on the DL means he's not getting the requisite attention from the fawning Red Sox faithful.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2949168

Christ on a pony, I hate that whole "why doesn't he sue them if it's not true" argument. Most pro athletes could spend their entire lives suing every Joe Schmoe who says something untrue about them, especially in the internet age.

This guy needs to shut his blowhole, or man up and tell Barry in person what he thinks.

Kobe Asks for Trade

otis29 — Wed, 30 May 2007 21:49:10 -0000

(From the diaries. I'm mixed on all this: yes, schadenfraude is awesome. But this might only serve to get Jerry West back in L.A., right? That's not good for us. - TZ)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927

Yes, I know it's ridiculous to even consider the Lakers trading Kobe to a division rival - but Kobe putting the screws to the Lakers is a scenario few would have envisioned a few weeks back.

Would the Kings have a potential package to put together that might entice the Lakers to deal? I just don't see it, since there will be plenty of teams bending over backwards to get Kobe. The Lakers have to get a superstar in return for Kobe, and the Kings can't give them that.

But a boy can dream can't he?

As an aside, I think Kobe deserves some of the blame for the current state of the Lakers, but Kupchak hasn't made a lot of stellar decisions either.

I know things are rough for our beloved Kings right now, but we can all find a small silver lining watching the impending implosion of the Lakers.

O/T How's Your NCAA Brackets?

otis29 — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:47:30 -0000

Thursday was probably my best first day in the NCAA pool ever. 14-2, with Duke and BYU as my only casualties. I had both of those teams going out in the next round anyways, so I'm in decent shape.

Now that I've posted this, I'm sure I'm destined for a 4-12 Friday.

How's everyone else doing?

O/T Anyone listening to ESPN 1320?

otis29 — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:02:04 -0000

This question is for you Sacramento-ites. Finally, there is a bit of competition for the increasingly tired act of Sports 1140.

So far, I'm enjoying the programming. It's nice to hear some fresh sports voices, and ESPN generates some top name interviews.

They really need to add a drive-time local program to challenge Grant and Mike though - maybe they can swoop Krug and Towny away from the SF station?

Tim Hardaway - Knuckle Dragging Mouth Breather

otis29 — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:32:15 -0000

I apologize to the Geico caveman if he is offended by the title of my diary, but this story is just ridiculous:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2766213

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
Well, there's no misunderstanding his position on homosexuals - his opinion is crystal clear.

It didn't take him long to apologize though:

"Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that," he said. "That was my mistake."
What? You weren't misinterpreted?

I'm just counting down to Timmy's announcement that he's entering a rehab center for some undisclosed addiction.

The Iverson Sweepstakes

otis29 — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 21:55:13 -0000

It's quite possible that the use of the word "sweepstakes" when speaking of an Allen Iverson trade is overkill. But with Kevin Garnett seemingly ensconced in Minnesota, AI becomes the most compelling figure on the trade block in the NBA this season.

The local Sacramento talk-show wisdom on acquiring Iverson to play for the Kings has been fairly negative. And odds are, the Kings are looking to be involved in the deal, but not necessarily to acquire Iverson. Most likely, they would be a third party in the deal, and acquire some separate talent.

However, could there be a chance that Joe & Gavin are looking to bring Iverson in to wear a Kings uniform? I wouldn't be surprised and here's why:

Mike Bibby does have some trade value, but it's apparent he's a tough fit in Musselman's "defense-first" mindset".

Iverson averages 31.2 PPG, and 7.2 APG per game (had to triple check that one), and plays balls-out each and every time he's on the hardwood (exempting practices of course).

Iverson's contract expires at the end of the '07-'08 season, making him a very nice trade chip for Geoff Petrie.

This team, as it's currently built, is not championship material. A year or two of Iverson isn't going to change that, and may even give the Kings a puncher's chance come playoff time.

Have you been to Arco Arena lately? "The Best Fans in the NBA" moniker barely sticks anymore - you're liable to hear more noise at a WWII fighter pilot reunion than at the Big Gas Pump these days.

Drawbacks? Well, sure. I can think of four right off the top of my head:

Iverson-Artest: Can these two guys get along? Will Ron-Ron adjust to the number of shots Iverson will average per game? Actually, I should classify this as a positive, since Artest would be forced to adjust his shot selection.

Iverson-Martin: Would AI stunt SpeedRacer's growth? This is a major possibility, although I'm not as sold on Kevin Martin as the "Next Big Thing" as most Kings fans are. He's destined to be a good player, sure, and quite possibly an All-Star, but a budding superstar? I'm not quite seeing it.

Iverson-KT-Salmons: Kenny Thomas and John Salmons must have felt like they'd been paroled from Pelican Bay when they escaped Philadelphia. Salmons has already gone on record saying he would welcome Iverson if the trade happened. I'm not sure any of us really care what KT thinks at this point.

Iverson-Musselman: Can Coach Muss (a notorious control freak) handle Iverson's lackadaisical approach to practice and dislike of authority?

Bottom line: I'm down with acquiring the man. The biggest drawback is the potential damaging of Kevin Martin's career (not a small point to ponder). Otherwise, what is there to lose? If the Kings were an Eastern Conference team, I'd probably like to see them stand pat. But in the West, you have to make bold moves occasionally. This would be the biggest and boldest of the Petrie era so far.

And tell me you wouldn't want to go out and watch Iverson play. Can't do it can ya? Iverson, Ron-Ron and Speed Racer wouldn't get dull anytime soon.