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By Matt Soldano  December 1, 2009, at 3:40 pm  I love it when there are some really obvious moves in the world of sports that general managers should make and they flat out ignore it or make up some BS reason as to why they choose to no longer pursue a certain athlete. I might not be like Jason, who thrives at mixing and matching players’ contracts or figuring out team’s salary cap situation, but a move like this makes me believe that maybe becoming a General Manager is not as difficult as people make it out to be.
A day after Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Eddie Jordan and GM Ed Stefanski met with Free Agent Allen Iverson in Dallas, no deal is in place and both parties seem to be “non-committal” at the moment. Despite the fact that several sources are reporting “there is no doubt” he will be coming back, I remember hearing the same sort of reports when the Knicks were targeting AI. Yet, it never happened and to me the Knicks did a huge disservice to their fans, a fan base that has suffered nearly a decade through uneventful season after uneventful season.
The Sixers need the future Hall of Famer more so than New York and it makes even more sense! Look at the injuries that Philly is battling through:
- Lou Williams: Jaw Injury – Out 8 weeks
- Mareese Speights: Knee Injury – Out 6-8 weeks
- Elton Brand: Hamstring Injury – Came back last night, though admitted not 100%
With Speights and Williams out until after the new year, the Sixers are missing 30 points and are struggling to find a cast of characters to shoulder the load. Andre Iguodala (the other AI) has struggled shooting the ball (42%, compared to his career 47% FG) and Thaddeus Young has not become fully comfortable with Eddie Jodan’s offensive style. Iverson becomes the scorer of the team and most of all a closer, something the Sixers have desperately lacked. The team is 5-13 and falling fast in the Eastern Conference but 7 of those losses have come by six points or less. Iverson knows the big stage and can show up brightest in those spots.
Yes, the roster is young, and the question will always center around would Iverson stunt the growth of the team. A playoff birth is not out of the question with Iverson. He could keep them afloat just enough so when Lou Williams and Speights come back healthy, they could push for that 7th or 8th seed. Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Indiana (the current 6-8 seeds) are anything but locks for a playoff bid and it would not shock anyone if they fell off the map.
So Philadelphia, let’s look at the pro’s here. You generate local/national buzz, you are able to sell tickets and jerseys, and gain some sort of national relevance. The con’s you deal withanother AI fallout at the end of the year since he will be on a one-year deal. This does not even need to be thought about! I could have told you all of this in three words but I thought 509 would make my argument more convincing.
SIGN ALLEN IVERSON! Armsleeve night would be one hell of a promotion.
By Anthony De Franco November 6, 2009, at 1:30 pm Ok, What?
From Rotoworld:
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that the Brewers have traded J.J. Hardy to the Twins for Carlos Gomez.
Hardy was a goner with the Brewers committing to Alcides Escobar at shortstop and the Twins have long been a rumored destination for him, so this deal makes sense. Gomez fell out of favor in Minnesota after arriving in the Johan Santana trade, but the speedy center fielder will be given a clear path to everyday playing time in Milwaukee as the replacement for free agent Mike Cameron. Nov. 6 – 11:57 am et
Okay, I get that J.J. Hardy was a goner. I get that they think that Alcides Escobar is the next big thing, but coouldn’t they do better than Carlos Gomez? Gomez has sick range in centerfield, but his bat really leaves something to be desired. How do you expect to run out a centerfielder who hits .246/.292/.346 and expect to make the Playoffs?
This just goes back to certain teams obsession with speed and defense. While Gomez is a great defender, does that lineup have enough pop in it with Ryan J. Braun and Prince Fielder to just give up an out in the lineup?
As for Hardy, he was a +5 win player in his heyday. The Twins want him to just get back to about half that. His .229/.350/.357 was accompanied by a 45 pont drop in his BABIP. There’s reason to beleive that he will improve, and regain some semblance of his previous form.
In short, the Twins got better, and the Brewers fans are likely to be really pissed by May.
By Matt Soldano November 4, 2009, at 12:46 pm Despite the 2009-10 NBA Season being a week old, I have come to the decision that Donnie Walsh blew it in June’s Draft when he had the number eight overall pick. I understand that Walsh had his hands tied when Stephen Curry and Ricky Rubio were already picked but I still cannot come to terms as to why Donnie Walsh believed that with their lottery pick Jordan Hill was the best option.
In my mock drafts, specifically leading up to the actual night of, I pegged the Knicks selecting Hill only because of the admiration the organization had for the former Wildcat. It is obvious though that there were two players that Walsh should have selected two guys before the thought of Hill crossed their minds. Ty Lawson and more specifically, Brandon Jennings, fit the Knicks plans and design and unfortunately, Donnie swung and missed…big time.
Hill has played in one game this year and has played a grand total of two minutes. Now no one thought he would come in and be a rookie of the year caliber type of player but no one thought he would be this far behind in terms of getting up to NBA speed and development. Compare those stats to Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets who is currently averaging 9 points and 3 assists in a backup role to Chauncey Billups in less than 20 minutes of play. I always thought Lawson would be a guy who could perfectly fit the bill with D’Antoni’s run and gun style. He is averaging a 5:1 Assists/Turnover ratio. That is how you play point guard folks.
Without Blake Griffin, Brandon Jennings has stolen the spotlight for this year’s rookies putting up ridiculous numbers for the Milwaukee Bucks. With a line of 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, Jennings has stolen the show and makes the departure of Ramon Sessions a forgotten thought. While he drew criticisms for leaving Arizona to play in Italy, Jennings has proven the inconsistency shown overseas was all a fluke, and his American game translates much better.
So where does Jordan Hill fit? Mike D’Antoni has already converted Wilson Chandler to the 4 to play similarly to Shawn Marion when D’Antoni was in Phoenix and he has David Lee at center. With Gallo and Al Harrington also being able to play the 3 and the 4, the need for Hill is perplexing. If Donnie Walsh felt there was a pressing need for a big man, why did he not draft Brook Lopez over Gallinari in 2008? Has Gallo proven anything in the NBA besides the fact that 75% of his shots this season have been 3 pointers? If I wanted that, give me Jason Kapono for a fraction of the money and draft Lopez.
The track record for Donnie Walsh’s draft picks have been less than impressive. Here are a list of the first round picks since Walsh began drafting with the Indiana Pacers.
The Good: Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Al Harrington, Danny Granger,
The Bad: George McCloud, Dale Davis, Travis Best, Erick Dampier, Vonteego Cummings
The Ugly: Malik Sealy, Scott Haskin, Eric Piatkowski, Austin Croshere, Primoz Brezec, Fred Jones, David Harrison, Jonathan Bender, Shawne Williams
The names don’t lie. Walsh has put all of his chips onto the table by acquiring expiring contract after expiring contract. If Walsh is unable to land Lebron James, what will the reaction be then from Knicks fans? With no 2010 first round pick (which would have surely land them in the lottery) when can the Knicks address the point guard situation? Can Toney Douglas actually assume the full-time position next year? Doubt it. All Knicks fans can do now is watch Jordan Hill continually disappoint hopefuls by sitting on the bench while Brandon Jennings continues to soar in Wisconsin. Who knows, maybe he will start to take Packer fans minds off of Brett Favre.
By Anthony De Franco October 12, 2009, at 4:36 pm Once is a gift, or a chance to counterpromote the biggest boxing card of the year. Twice, on the other hand, is a pattern and something that UFC fans should thank the MMA gods for. UFC 104’s very potent undercard will be televised for free on SPIKE TV on October 24th. Here’s the news from MMA Weekly:
Spike TV on Monday announced that it will telecast live undercard bouts from UFC 104 on Oct. 24 at 9:00pm ET/PT from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The fights on Spike TV will include “The Ultimate Fighter 8” winner Ryan Bader, a rising star in the light heavyweight division, taking on Eric “Red” Schafer. The one-hour telecast will run commercial-free. The UFC 104 main card will run on pay-per-view at 10:00pm ET.
Spike TV telecast the prelims for UFC 103 on Sept. 19 drawing a robust 1.4 million viewers and placed No. 2 on cable with Men 18-34 in the timeslot.
A two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, Ryan Bader, fighting out of Tempe, Ariz., is 2-0 in the UFC and a perfect 10-0 in his mixed martial arts career. The 26-year-old light heavyweight, winner of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” earned a unanimous decision win against veteran Carmelo Marrero in April. He now faces another experienced grappler in Eric “Red” Schafer. Fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis., Schafer is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and on a four-fight win streak, with two of his three UFC wins coming via submission. His most recent victory came via TKO against Antonio Mendes at UFC 93.
Last month, we saw the lightweight winner from The Ultimate Fighter 8 Efrain Escudero. This month, we get to see the light heavyweight winner, Ryan Bader. Bader reminds me so much of Josh Koscheck that it’s scary. He’s an all-american wrestler that understands how to use his skills in the octagon. However, he needs to develop a striking game to complement the ground game that he has spent his entire life honing. Much like Koscheck, who trains at The American Kickboxing Academy in San Diego, Bader has a damn good camp in Arizona Combat Sports. ACS is home to such high level fighter as WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, and UFC fighters C.B. Dollaway and Aaron Simpson.
As for the free fights, it’s an interesting new way to market the TUF winners. We’ve done a lot of talking on this site about what exactly it means to win the reality show at this point. No longer do these winners get to “warm up” to the Octagon by taking fights they can win. Instead, they get fights against other up and coming stars and we find out how far they are going to go very quickly. With these new fights that million of people are watching, Dana White and Joe Silva have a way to build names while testing the winners with strong opponents. After all, how many people knew Escudero’s name before 103?
UFC 104 is headline by Lyoto Machida defending the light heavyweight champion against former PRIDE GP winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
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