Not much went on this weekend. It was kind of a lost four days because I really didn't do too much. I think I kind of needed that because the last few weekends have been hectic. The only thing that's cool about this week is it's a three day week and I'm going to a Dodger's game on Friday. Who-hoo!
I bought
Peeping Tom this last weekend, which is the new album from
Mike Patton. He's the singer from
Faith No More and like 900 other projects. This one is...interesting. The packaging is...kewl, I might make a video or an animated gif so you can see how it works. It's pretty interesting.
So, basketball. We're in the weird limbo part of the season where trades and free agent signings can't offically happen until seven days from now, but of course there are tons of both going on. So here's my comments on a few of them;
1. Ben Wallace signs with Chicago. Interesting. Now they've got two overpaid centers that can't score on a team that has problems scoring. Of course there are rumors that the Bulls are shopping Tyson Chandler and they're reporting that it could happen today. Preposed trade; Chandler to the Hornets (who all of the sudden look really good) for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith and maybe Malik Allen (Bulls) and Arvydas Macijauskas (Hornets) thrown in the deal. Arvydas Macijauskas, by the way, has way too many consonants in his name. Another sidebar, if you can't decide on a name for your kid, just go with initials, because then there's a 24% chance they could end up in the NBA or the WNBA. Back to the signings, I like what the Hornets are doing, not so sure about the Bulls. They overpaid for Wallace and he's declining. I don't like his attitude, mainly because he's always whining about something and usually it's about not scoring. How about making a layup every once in awhile and then maybe we'll talk about running a play for you? Seriously, he's a 6.6 ppg career scorer and he averaged 7.3 ppg in Detroit's revamped offense. Not. Good. Also, he's going to be 32 in September, which will make him 36 when the contract is done. The Bulls are rumored to be making a run at Kevin Garrnet to pair him up with Wallace, but I just don't see that happening. I really see Garrnet leaving Minnesota via free agency when his monster contract is up and signing with the Lakers. The Bulls have a good team now, but I think they're going to regret the signing the first time Wallace pouts or slams Scott Skills or says something stupid about the team. He's not a team player. As for the Pistons, well, what do you do here? They signed a guy that isn't even half the player Wallace is, and that's not saying much. They're going to have to play small ball and that means getting firepower off the bench. That's not going to be easy, because the free agent pool is already dried up and they've got nobody to trade. It's no secret that I don't like the Pistons, and now they're in a giant hole. We'll see if they can climb out. I hope they don't and it's "DE-TROIT LOTERY-PICK!" for the next couple of years.
2. Peja Stojakovic signs with the Hornets. Bigtime shocker here. I'm being serious. Charlotte/New Orleans/Oklahoma (or whatever else they're calling themselves this week) comes out of nowhere and signs this guy. The rumors were he was going to Toronto, which would have made the Raps look really good on paper. Personally, I think the Hornets overpaid because Peja's declining, but then they go out and sign his former Kings runningmate Bobby Jackson. I really like this, even though BJAX is decling too. But now, they've got a good core, and they obviously want to run. Now they've got a guy that can come off the bench and score. They've also already got two really good borderline All-Stars in Chris Paul and David West. Throw in that Bulls trade and things look really, really interesting if Byron Scott can get Chandler to do something other than block shots. Something tells me they're not done dealing either. In other Hornets news, Speedy Claxton signs with Atlanta and all 17 Hawks fans are now really excited for some reason, mainly because he's a point guard and not a 6'8" wing player. You're still headed for a high lottery pick, Atlanta, don't fool yourselves.
3. Vladimir Radmanovic signs with the Lakers. I heard about this one and again, was pretty shocked. He seemed like a lock to resign with the Clippers. I hate the Lakers, but I really like this move. This is what his agent had to say, "...when Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson call your number at 6 o'clock on the morning of free agency, and you've got Vlade Divac, who's one of his idols, and Magic Johnson on standby, you tend to perk up and listen real hard and clear." Uh, yeah, I would too. Vlad gives them the shooter they need and now the Lakers can finally say to Devean George, "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out". That was one of the worst signings they ever made and one of the reasons they couldn't move anyone or sign anyone in the last couple of years; nobody wanted him and his contract was an albatross. Anyways, the Clips really need to resign
Enemy Mine Sam Cassell. Then they need to deal Cory Maggette because he's a problem on that team. He thinks it's his team, when it's really Elton Brand and Sam Cassell's team. And soon it's going to be Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston's team when Livingston's ready. I really think Maggette is out of there before the season starts.
4. T.J. Ford to the Raptors for Charlie Villanueva and cash. Sorry T.J., but you've now been banished to NBA purgatory. The guy fights back from a spinal cord injury, has a good season and then gets dealt. Kinda sucky in my book. On the other hand, Mo Williams was being held back and needed playing time. He can handle the point fulltime. But now, Milwaukee's frontcourt of the future is really, really young and really, really inexperienced. I see them stuck spinning their wheels for the next couple of years and staying in the same spot (7th-10th in the East) for awhile, effectively wasting Micheal Redd's prime until Villanueva and Andrew Bogut figure it all out. By that time they'll be on other teams. I know Toronto is spinning this as "insurance" in case Mike James doesn't resign, but let's face it, he's not resigning with the Raps. No way, no how. Guy's got everyone's interest and now he's the #1 free agent with all these other guys taking themselves off the board. He's signing elsewhere.
5. Joel Przybilla resigns with the Blazers. Okay, okay, enough with the crazy names already, my keyboard's Y, L amd Z keys don't work anymore after typing in all these names in. The only thing that could make it any worse is if Eric Piatkowski got traded or signed somewhere. Wait a minute, he signed with Phoenix? Gawdamit. Anyway, back to Przybilla, I'm totally disappointed in you Joel. I know you said it was about loyalty, but this is the Blazers we're talking about here. They have no idea what they're doing right now. And you blasted the players at the end of the season because you didn't think they were playing hard or wanted to win (which was true). They've traded away a ton of guys that were "problems", but seriously, most of the problem guys are still there. The situation will not change. And you could have gone to San Antonio or Cleaveland and won a championship for the same amount of money. Totally dissapointed. And I really don't know what the Spurs are going to do because they traded Rasho Nesterovic and Nazr Mohammed is going to sign with the pistons. Ok, that's it, my keyboard has offically stopped working...
