Any trades to report in the past month?
Why, yes!
San Antonio Spurs receive:
SF Josh Childress
Atlanta Hawks receive:
PG Brent Barry
San Antonio's 2008 1st round pick
What this means for the Spurs:
Bruce Bowen is 36 and Michael Finley is 34. The Spurs desperately needed a young swingman to fill in the gap when they decline or retire and the 24 year-old Childress fits the bill very nicely. He's more polished than any late 1st round selection next year would be and will be able to step in right away.
What this means for the Hawks:
Childress was in a bad, bad situation in Atlanta. The Hawks have 6 SG/SF types in their early-mid 20s and there was just no room for him in the crowded rotation. Barry gives the Hawks an extra $5.5 million expiring contract to go on top of the $1.7 million space they have now. With a number of other expiring contracts on the roster, Atlanta could position themselves as free agent players this next offseason. The pick is going to be a late 1st, but it's another piece Atlanta can add to their strong youth moment.
Winner: Draw, as both teams win
Hmm, maybe I should see about prying someone loose from the Hawks.
Only on second look, there's nobody I really have any interest in.
Just for the fun of it, I call up Golden State and offer them Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford for Baron Davis. They actually make like they're interested and I'm thinking this has to be some sort of sick, sick joke. So we continue negotiating until they get cold feet and don't consider Curry a good enough centerpiece when trading away Davis.
All right, no problem. I'll just do some more calling and talking, looking for a deal.
I chat up the Sacramento Kings and we get into some discussions concerning my favorite mercurial player, but it doesn't get anywhere.
Then it's on to the Bulls, who I had some earlier discussions with, but the conversation realy starts heating up this go-round, like on the blockbuster level. And then we pull it off.
New York Knicks receive:
SG Ben Gordon
SF Andres Nocioni
Chicago Bulls 2008 1st round pick
Chicago Bulls 2010 1st round pick
Chicago Bulls receive:
PF David Lee
PG Raymond Felton
C Eddy Curry
What this means for the Knicks:
GM Jestor wanted a scoring star and he got one in Gordon, who's averaging 24.6 points a game. At 24, Gordon's the type of player to build a franchise around and it's highly expected that he'll get a contract extension very soon. Nocioni is on a four year deal, the same as Curry, but it's a much more cap-friendly contract. He'll tenatively figure in as the starting PF in the revamped Knicks lineup. The two 1st round picks will go a long way to deciding how this deal eventually goes. Jestor's favorite, rookie Joakim Noah, now takes over as the starting C.
What this means for the Bulls:
Curry returns to Chicago and his improved play in New York should pay divends. The Bulls' faithful is going to be very antsy about this move, given his checkered history with the team in the past. Fortunately, he won't have to be the starting C, where Big Ben Wallace sits. He'll be able to play against smaller players at PF. Lee becomes the Bulls' 6th man and will provide another huge rebounder alongside Wallace. Felton replaces Gordon as the starting SG. For the Bulls, this trade boils down to how well Curry adjusts to being back in Chicago. The team leads the East with an 18-9 record and with a deal this big, anything less than an NBA Finals appearance is a major disappointment.
Winner: New York, as the Knicks build for the future
I can't believe I hornswaggled the Bulls into taking Curry back. Wow! I'm a little sorry to see Felton go, but you have to give up something to get something and I think Gordon can electrify this team. I'm also thrilled Montgomery's named Noah as the starting C. More PT can only be a good thing.
New year, new-look Knicks, same old losing ways as we drop two straight games, 105-80 to Sacramento and 113-97 to Miami. That's okay, as I figured we were in for a rough patch while the team adjusts to a whole new style of play.
Another loss, this time 95-80 to the Cavaliers. Gordon's scored 20+ points in 2 of his first 3 games in the Orange and Blue and Caron's broken the same total in as many games, but the rest of the offense is really struggling.
The drought breaks in a 104-93 victory over the Trailblazers, as Gordon scores 37 points with 3 assists and 7 rebounds and Joakim gets his first double-double as a starter with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
We lose by 10 in the next game to the Hornets, but Caron scores 26, Ben 27 and I get the feeling we'll be just fine once everybody gets used to playing with each other.
A long break and a long game as we drop one 105-82 to the Bulls. Felton and Curry are thriving in the Chicago offense and all we can muster is 26 points from Gordon and an anemic Nocioni double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Maybe I was too hasty.
93-79 loss to the Bulls on the home and away. Curry wins Player of the Game with 19 points, 3 assists, 16 rebounds and a steal. Felton scores 20 points. The fans are going to have my head.
I've lost track of how many games in a row it's been, but we lose in excess of 30 to the Raptors. Out of our 76 points, 24 are scored by Gordon, 23 by Jamal Crawford. Nobody else comes close to double-digit points. Ben Gordon is a lonely, lonely young man.
110-98 loss to Houston, despite Gordon's 34 points and a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists from Starbury. This team is starved for offense. Ironic, considering I traded for Ben Gordon precisely to have a scoring star. Caron's been a disappointment in that regard. Or maybe it's that we need a third scoring option. Or maybe better defense.
Hell, at this point, I don't know.
Milwaukee beats us 119-108 next game. At least we broke 100 points. Ben Gordon scored 39 and Starbury doubled with 24 points and 12 assists. Andres Nocioni got hurt and so we actually had to shift Noah over to PF and start Raef LaFrentz at C. Note to self: Draft a new big man with the lottery pick.
114-105, Phoenix beats us. Our offense shows actual signs of life. Gordon plays brilliantly with 41 points, 2 assists, 9 rebounds and 4 steals, but Caron Butler plays just 3 minutes and I'm fearing the worst, because he has no fouls.
Ugh. Caron Butler - Broken leg. Estimated out 36 days. Our season just hit rock bottom.
Our new lineup:
PG Stephon Marbury
SG Ben Gordon
SF Andres Nocioni
PF Darius Miles
C Joakim Noah
More losses, to the Cavs and the Pistons. Joakim Noah with 12 points and 10 rebounds versus Detroit, Ben Gordon with 36 points, 2 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals in the same game.
A miracle 106-104 win over the Clippers sends the fans into riots of ecstacy. Gordon ravages the Red and White for 42 points. If we can just get some supporting players around him, I think we could be a very good team.
Or is he my version of Mitch Richmond? Yes, that's a Gabriel Arcadia reference. The full dynasty isn't on these boards, because I didn't transfer all of it over. But you can see the full text here:
http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=39761
The victory's so cheering that I don't mind the blowout loss against the Nuggets that follows.
And so at month's end, we hold the NBA's worst record at 11-34, but on the bright side, the Chicago Bulls are now a game behind the Detroit Pistons, even if they still own the 2nd best record in the East.
The East's winning records are at five: Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Miami, but the Heat are just barely there at 24-23. The West have 8 winning teams, with the Phoenix Suns scorching everyone at a breathtaking 41-6. They're as good as we are bad.
Caron's injury may have a silver lining. It gives me an excuse to point to when I go up for review before the owner after this year.