Alright here goes, im sure everyone by now has heard of Washington resigning their “star” point guard for a ridiculous 111 million dollar deal. This after agent zero so kindly took a 16 million dollar pay cut. All I have to say is, WOOP DE FREEAKIN DOO. First things first, a contract like that is ridiculous in all aspects, espescially for an undersized point guard who missed a lot of last season. If anyone is going to get that contract, it should go to a real game changing superstar, someone who can will their team to victory, someone like Kobe or LBJ. Glibert is good, but hes not one of those guys. Secondly, was I the only one to notice that Washington seemed to do better without him? Played more like a team, and shared the ball. In today’s NBA a point guard isn’t always the primary playmaker, and there are a lot of point forwards, but a point guard still needs to spread the ball and run the offence. Agent Zero only does that when he feels like it, and by dominating the ball he hurts the flow of the offence and doesn’t do his job. Turning down 16 million to help your team is great, but he still negotiated an 111 million dollar deal. If he were a little more unselfish with his shots, then maybe i could understand.
Moving, on the clippers made big news by going out and signing the Baron from right under Golden State’s noses. Smart signing by them, as it appears Shaun Livingstons never actually going to be healthy enough to play to the potential he has shown. Baron is coming off a career year, and is one of the top 5 point guards in the NBA, and potentially one of the top 10 players overall. As good as Elton Brand was, I think this is a significant upgrade for the Clippers, and if they can find a way to convince Maggette to stay, or work out a sign in trade, I can see them passing some of the playoff teams in the west (Mavs, Nuggets)
Third and final thing is Toronto’s own, the Raptors. I love the Jermaine O’Neal trade. Firstly, lets assume he only plays 60-65 games. Andrea Bargnani can do an okay job for the other 20 or so games, and I think Toronto’s got enough skill to make it without him. For those people who say that he’s going to hurt the offence with his face up game and taking away space from CB4, thats not what hes here for. O’Neal’s value to the Raptors comes on the other side of the ball, where he is a legit big man who slides his feet, alters shots, plays solid face up defence, and occasionally spectacular help side D, even if he can’t get off the ground. All of the top contenders in the East have a Big man that can do great things on the offensive end, from ‘Sheed, to Superman, to The big ticket. O’Neal provides the counter the raps so desperately need to defend against these guys. Heck, even if he doesn’t do that, theres always the fact that hes trade bait for next year with one of those expiring contracts teams always seem to love.
